Posted 5:30 PM by Andy
Ideas shape a man and a nation, so let’s start with some new thoughts gleaned through recent readings.

More Than Words. Edited by Phillip Yancey, this is a compilation of authors, pastors, and laymen who communicate truth through the arts and their own experiences with works that have sparked their creativity or shed new insights at critical inflection points. This is a treasure trove of ideas about spiritual forefathers that can inspire.

The Invisible Hand. R.C. Sproul’s main thesis is that God works all the time even when circumstances appear to the contrary or when He seems to be absent. From the time of Abraham when he was about to sacrifice his son with his blade poised above Isaac averted by a last-minute lamb offering to Mose’s deliverance as a baby into the Egyptian royal chambers from the eddies of the Jordan, to Esther’s appointed position as queen in King Xerxes’court to set up the overturn of his decree and save the Jews in that realm, God’s active involvement is evident. The problem of evil and miracles are discussed and the gospel message is clearly presented throughout.

Profiles in Courage for Modern Times. Edited by Caroline Kennedy, this is a collection of biographical sketches of men and women, mostly in public service, who have staked their reputations, careers, and lives on principles they believed in. Many cases of racial politics are presented and Northern Ireland peace activism is also noted. These people risked physical injury and public villification for their unflinching stances on volatile issues. Many lost their political seats as a result of their unpopular votes but their influence did not diminish and reverberate to this day.

The Future of Ideas. Written by Stanford law professor Lessig, he examines the rise of the Internet and the effect it has on the larger debate between public domain and intellectual property. He makes a cogent argument for maintaining the “commons”, property in the physical realm like roads and libraries as well as sharing intellectual property like source code for software. He notes how open spectrum is a much better use of our resources than auctions which have handicapped the companies that bid speculatively and consumers from more and better communications options.

Drake’s Fortune. This is an interesting tale on the greatest conman who ever lived. This guy operated at the turn of the 20th century. He was duped into a Ponzi scheme based on a false will of Sir Francis Drake, took ownership of the scam, refined his techniques of bombastic showmanship and proceeded to milk the bulk of his generation of their hard-earned savings. The Great Depression did not dampen his investors’ enthusiasm to throw money his way. Scotland Yard couldn’t pin a crime on him although they had thick files on this confidence man. He manipulated the British and American law-enforcement agencies against each other, frustrating their attempts at capture by muddying the legal boundaries of jurisdiction. When he was jailed, he wrote letters to his investors and they still believed he was abused by the government to bar them from their justly-deserved riches. In the last days of his life, he devolved into insanity, often pontificating on his claim to the Drake fortune and his status with British royalty from his prison cell. Hubris and gullibility writ large.

Gladstone. The biography of the most prominent prime minister of Britain. He spent the majority of his life in the House of Commons, dominating national policy in 19th century England like no other. His relationships with contemporaries like Peel, Disraeli, and Queen Victoria are described in detail. He spent many weeknights after long Parliamentary sessions talking to street courtesans trying to reform them. His renowned for his oratorical flourish and stamina, speaking extemporaneously for hours at a time and cowing his political opponents into submission. He was a voracious reader and completed 20,000 books in his lifetime, ranging widely from the classics to history to obscure tracts on mechanical tools. Larger national issues like Irish home rule and its impact on international relations were discussed.

The Modern Mind. An intellectual history of the 20th century. This is my kind of book. Every thinker, every philosophical trend, every idea, fanciful or revolutionary, is captured and woven into a narrative history. Instead of focusing on wars and disasters, this history examines thought streams and the people behind them. The most fascinating part is the interplay of ideas as men and women jostled with their peers, meeting, rebutting and refining each others’ beliefs at various points around the world. From Freud to Feynman, from Kafka to Dostoeyevsky, from Hitler to Gandhi, from Marconi to Tim Berners-Lee, they are all here. As a bonus, I learned some physics from this, as the author presents the evolution of modern physics from the theory of relativity to the splitting of the atom to quarks to black holes to space-time curvature to superstring theory.

Since movies are our modern form of story-telling, let’s examine a few recent voyeuristic episodes.

Adaptation. This is a gem. It’s about a screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, who has trouble with adapting a novel to fit the bigscreen. His neurosis is aptly portrayed as his less talented and more banal younger twin Donald seizes success with a conventional screenplay. The life of Susan Orlean, the writer whose work he is adapting, is also shown with its involvement with a charismatic orchid collector and ensuing dissolution. Their worlds collide with frightening results. This movie has multiple levels with ruminations on the screenwriting trade, passion and purpose, and the disappointments of shattered fantasies. The most provocative line was, “It’s not what loves you, it’s what you love.” On its face, this is profound because it suggests not caring about what others think and just living for your passions. Upon further thought, I believe the inverse is more true. If you know you are loved beyond measure, then you have the ability to move on in life in spite of hardship. That’s why as Christians, having the assurance and experience of the love of Christ can lift the most abject failures to the most exalted states, not because of anything inherently noble in us, but because of the steadfast love of God holding us captive.

Lord of the Rings, Two Towers. Entertaining second installment of the three-part saga of Middle Earth and its inhabitants. There are massive battle sequences with a castle siege included and touching dialog between the characters as they probe their destinies. The Smegal(?) character is great. He struggles with the schizophrenic personalities of good and evil, switching back and forth in the same conversation with himself and others. Great truth about the human condition reminiscent of the sinful nature in Romans 7 as exposited by Paul.

Unfaithful. Devastating examination of an unintended fling and its traumatic effects on a marriage. Great performances by Diane Lane as the tortured adulteress and Richard Gere as the dutiful husband who goes berserk. If you’re tempted to cheat, this is a good morality tale of infidelity’s consequences.

Future. I definitely plan and think about my future much more than the average person. With the recent decision to attend grad school for international relations, I have faced many inquiries about the future that portends for me after the program. Most of my peers are supportive. My mom and most of her peers are more skeptical. The typical comment from them goes something like, “What can you do with that? Why don’t you get an MBA instead, that’s more practical.” Or “You should go to USC for business school, it has a great network in southern California and you can definitely find a job.” If anyone knows me at all, I don’t want a job. I want a life marked by purpose. Any time I have succumbed to the material instinct and opted for money over larger or more noble considerations, I have regretted it. So I am determined to prove the naysayers wrong and carve my own path. There are three broad areas that preparation in international affairs will equip me to serve in. First is private sector development, probably in a financing role in Asia in general, and China in particular. This could mean a position with the traditional business firms of choice like consulting groups or banks or the financing arm of a multinational organization like the IFC of the World Bank. Second is the diplomacy route where I can enter the Foreign Service or work for the State department on trade and peacekeeping issues. The last option is to go back to school for advanced doctoral training in political science so I can advise governments on regime change, conflict resolution, and development topics.

The network. From the middle of the year when I lost all my data on my Palm Pilot, I have rebuilt my address book from about 10 people to about 150 currently. Some of these people are fascinating in the breadth of their experiences and uniqueness of their personal visions. I have enjoyed being sharpened by some and injecting ideas into others in turn. This week I talked for over 90 minutes with CCH about the fusion of faith and work, specifically how we can subsume our ambitions into God’s plan. These are the conversations that energize me because they signify a critical engagement with our purpose for living with attempts to understand the will of our Creator. Friends are also good for times like these when I’m about to move to a completely new environment in the middle of nowhere. AF provides a typical response, “I can’t believe you’re going to Syracuse. That place is …. interesting.” But I know God will prepare new people for me to meet during the next 16 months. Before I even set foot on campus, I have found out TQ will be interning in Manhattan, NW’s friend is studying communications at SU, MF’s family is nearby on the reference of cousin LC, and TK’s uncle is an economics professor at the Maxwell School.

On the Shelf: The Metaphysical Club(Rise of Pragmatism); Monarch(Reign of Elizabeth II); Guns, Germs and Steel(Geography’s Impact on Civilization).

Next Time: Family and church powwows, Meeting EY, Vegas, Bay Area tour, CH’s wedding.