Brother Flanagan Reporting for Duty

I can now recommend a permanent news fast from the other side of the divide. What a difference it makes. Everything I've written, about the fate of the world and political and social irresponsibility, dial it down in your mind. From an 8 in intensity to, let's say, a 7.8.

Consider me more of a monk. When I was in college I visited the Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky a couple of times. I'm not very religious but they would put you up and feed you for free. I admired the monks to begin with but I didn't think they had a clue about the world.

They understood everything way better than I did. I came away thinking that it's very hard to see past the noise when you're out in the shit. You ride all the data points up and down and get roughed up in the deal. The monks saw the larger trends from a place of security.

We're yet in the middle of a national nervous breakdown, to my mind, but I feel the pain less now. Still, for the sake of God and humanity, don't vote Republican. Feed the children, house the homeless and take care of people. Let everyone vote and pay taxes like a grownup. 

Maybe, someday, Republicans will get on board with this. For now it's up to us.