Ephemeral to Substantive

And Lewis's "Till We Have Faces"

Welcome to another edition of The Mueller Report!

Updates

The ski season is in full swing here in Colorado. The snow is adequate, not amazing. But a storm or two will put that right. It’s also been cold the past two weeks (getting below -15 some nights). But we were able to get out on one of the warmer days.

We also hit an important milestone this week. The youngest (four years old) began skiing down from the top of the mountain without help. I’ve been looking forward to this moment because it means that the whole family can ski together on the main hill.

There’s also been progress on the health front – doctors appointments set up and starting to catch up on vaccines, check-ups, and blood tests. We’re also working on getting the kids more exercise. Stationary bikes, weights, and access to a pool all help on the sub-zero, or just sub-freezing days. We’ll see if either of the older two are interested in trying a kid’s triathlon this summer.

I just got back from another work trip – this one only a few days long. One of the fun parts of my job is getting to go to conferences and hear interesting talks. This conference gave me several research ideas and a couple topics for shorter pieces. It’s an exciting time to be working on ESG with so much change and so many wins starting to stack up.

There’s a lot more to be done, though, because ESG and DEI have become deeply embedded in some of society’s most important institutions. And there are thousands of true believers still in positions of power and influence. All that to say, I’ll still have a lot to write about on this issue for the foreseeable future.

Writing

The year continues to have a good start when it comes to publishing. I have had pieces this month in Fox News, the Washington Examiner, and The Hill (going live tomorrow). I also had two pieces in The Daily Economy and two pieces in the American Spectator as well as a book review for the University Bookman. Besides short pieces, I have a couple longer pieces I’m working on – including two talks in March.

One talk focuses on the virtues of profit and business. Besides having a theological motive in the cultural mandate of Genesis three and God’s example of doing excellent work, profitable business blesses the community: workers, suppliers, customers, and owners. Recently, on the Right, some people have begun questioning whether everyone truly benefits from profit-seeking business or if workers have been left in the cold of globalization.

But American workers have been doing just fine – the real problem has been departures from the workforce, the disintegration of nuclear family, and rising homelessness – all fueled by irresponsible expansions of welfare programs and the drug-abuse that tends to accompany them. People blame deindustrialization and globalization/offshoring for these problems, but it seems clear to me that they are really wrapped up in policy choices – including policy choices that artificially encouraged globalization by taxing and hamstringing domestic manufacturing.

Then I am chairing a panel about intellectual community. We’ll talk about the role of family and geography, as well as the activities and norms that create these kinds of communities. I will be talking about AIER in Great Barrington and about the Russell Kirk Center in Mecosta. I’ll share some about my own hopes and aspirations for The Abbey and for Leadville.

I’ve republished my 2024 letters to the editor (two more next week.) After that, I’ll be republishing my three American Spectator pieces form last year and then my Daily Economy pieces about monetary issues. Please forward and share with friends and acquaintances who may be interested in the topics.

Reflection

I find it interesting how much of our lives consist of ephemeral experiences – time, talk, travel – a good meal, a beautiful song, etc. I suppose one could argue that all experience is ephemeral because it comes and goes in an instant and all we are left with are memories. But that’s not quite right because our experiences shape and mold us. We carry the relics of our past with us – the holy ones, the ugly ones, and the mundane ones. This is why philosophers (and theologians) have emphasized virtue and habits in forming a good, moral, holy, happy life.

Modern society, though, has raised experiences, rather than character, to the pinnacle of human endeavor. And so most people cast aside their past relics in search of new ones, which they will quickly cast away too. We need to learn and practice presence, patience, and not wasting time if we want our ephemeral experiences to become substantive. Quality time is like this – but so are many times that may not feel like “quality.” Like so many things in life, show up is over half the battle.

Andy Crouch once said something that Kathryn and I have taken to heart: you should really make the effort to show up for life’s major milestones – births, marriages, graduations, funerals. Similarly, show up for dinner, for bedtime, for questions, for stories. And what you find, eventually, is that something solid has formed in your character, in your family, in your relationship. Unless you waste time in front of a screen that is - phone, computer, TV, it doesn’t matter. Or have chosen to go off by yourself for hours, days, weeks, or longer.

Bookshelf

I just finished Lewis’ Till We Have Faces. It’s a retelling of the Greek myth about Cupid and Psyche. The story-telling is unusual because it is entirely narrated by the main character. There’s also a lot of symbolism and messaging under the surface. Some is easy to see, other parts only unfold towards the end. It’s a fascinating book about love, and about hate, and how we can confuse the two.

Till We Have Faces is a companion book to Lewis’ Four Loves, especially about how love based only on affection leads to possessiveness and ultimately withers. It’s the narrative form of his discourse. The main character thinks she loves her sister, and her friends, but discovers that her desire for them is ultimately selfish and self-centered. Even worse, her passion destroys them. Sometimes the destruction is swift, sometimes slow. But the main character labors under deep self-deception. I would say “honest” self-deception, but part of Lewis’ point is that we are all complicit, to some extent, when we deceive ourselves. We plead our honesty and ignorance, but Lewis suggests that we all have moments of doubt that we suppress to maintain the delusion that we love.

There are also interesting elements of philosophy and paganism mixed into his book. Both philosophy and paganism know something, but not enough. Although they correct each other in part, they also both miss the mark or the reality behind their beliefs. There are also interesting motifs about beauty, veiling (and hiding), rivalry, and comradeship – hence the title: Till We Have Faces.

Game Corner

We recently received a game passed on by some family friends called “Clash of Cultures.” The boys had been asking about this game since we played it a couple of times last summer with these friends. It’s a complicated open-ended game (which is why Teddy loves it) with similarities to Sid Meier’s “Civilization” Computer game.

You build settlements and additions to your cities. You collect resources and research technological advances. But you have limited actions with dozens of options – resulting in a lot of analysis paralysis. Still, the open-ended nature of the game and the huge number of choices make it intriguing once you learn how to play.

Kathryn learned how to play with me without the boys. Then the four of us played a game later in the week. We were about to stop halfway through but Kathryn really wanted to accomplish something, so we continued and ended up finishing (rather late). “Clash of Cultures” is not for the casual game player, but it is a fun addition for those who like more complicated and involved games – but can still be played in a couple hours.