The Fargo Forum killed the Hancock paper. Maybe we're all progressing beyond newspapers anyway. We tap into the online world like never before. A trend that had already started, has accelerated due to the pandemic. I almost feel like a member of Triumphant Love Lutheran Church of Austin TX. I have become fond of calling up their online services. The pastor is Danielle Casey.
Someone commented that fitness businesses are going to become strained because people can get their "Pelotons" for at home. We are all certainly hunkered down now. And getting frustrated? Angry? We should not be angry, not yet. We are greatly relieved to know that Donald Trump will no longer be our representative on the international stage. We will have a professional and civilized public servant leading us, who refrains from openly insulting people all over the place. It's Joe Biden.
So we can feel heartened, but at the same time there is fear over Trump having a month and a half left. It is also terribly sobering to know that Trump came close to winning. Are we really wanting to see doom and gloom on ourselves? Look at what is happening in our close neighbor to the west: South Dakota. So bad is South Dakota's inattentiveness to the pandemic, the state is being called out by the governor of West Virginia, a Republican.
Jim Justice of West Virginia is not cowed by Kristi Noem being "good looking." He talks like he could not care less. Noem and Justice are both Republicans. But Justice is the one with brains. He says "I don't want to be South Dakota." Two weeks ago, the West Virginia governor installed a strict new mask mandate for his state. Oh, he does have detractors. We always hear about how such measures may violate a state constitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court has now decided that state government cannot restrict church attendance. The Court cites the free worship ideal. Many young people are probably laughing at that: since when does anyone have to go to a building and be in a group of people just to affirm Christian faith? I don't have to go to Austin TX, I can listen to Pastor Casey's sermons right at home. No "freedom" is being abridged.
Shame on Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Supreme Court. He second-guesses the law from a frame of mind that ought to belong to elected officials. He says it's not fair if certain other entities are allowed full access while churches are limited. Why such rules? Well, the short answer is that politicians have their reasons. Certainly they have no nefarious motive of wanting to suppress religion - Gov. Cuomo of New York is as committed a Catholic as you'll find.
We all can survive without going to church buildings. But going to church buildings now could kill us. The Supreme Court appears not to care about that. Are we in America in some sort of grand death cult now? Remember that the Nazi regime was not so much fascist as it was a death cult.
We elected Donald Trump. Can you imagine the "greatest generation" that came out of WWII, choosing as president such a crude and ignorant individual? What has become of us?
The long walk I took today served to calm me down from some of these feelings. What a long winter we are about to embark on. The worst of the pandemic has arrived. No light at the end of the tunnel, and if you watched the news earlier today, you learned that the vaccine prospects are likely not as bright as we've been led to believe. People are trying to feed us encouraging news just to keep us subdued. The dark clouds could continue for a very long time.
Personal perspective
Thanksgiving is nothing like what it was when my parents were alive. We'd get together with my uncle in Glenwood, Howard and his wife Vi. Sometimes we'd be at their place, sometimes at ours. Howard was the banker and my father was the musician. We'd arrive at Howard's place, a humble middle class house, and Vi would have krumkake and coffee ready to serve. Later we had the full spread for Thanksgiving.
Year after year we kept this tradition going. Eventually such a tradition ends. So I'm alone in the Thanksgiving of 2020 and my fare for the day was: two bacon-egg-cheese bagels from Caribou Coffee, and then later a package of krumkake with a Mountain Dew. Oh, it was wonderful. Not the same but wonderful. And the walk along the full route of the biking/talking trail was the biggest blessing: no wind, temperature decent, sun out from midday on.
Let's pray for everyone's health. Oh, South Dakota has the highest per capita Covid death rate in the world. Just thought I'd mention it.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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