Grab a pitchfork, grow some virtue.

OK, I’m about to say something incredibly unpopular to all those out there who have come to depend on easy access to the foods they want and need, including the segment that relies on farm-fresh food co-ops.

News flash: we are heading into a “slowdown” that all the talking heads keep comparing to the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a genius to see that our world is radically different from the way it was in 1929. This is not a “slowdown” or a “recession” or any other softball term the press and the powers-that-be are desperately trying to throw at it. What is now happening is something that no one now living has ever experienced before.

Our entire way of life is about to change very, very drastically. This change is going to be so huge that no one has the slightest ability at the present moment to accurately predict, nor even imagine, its breadth or its depth--despite some very good guesses.

Anyone who wants to complain about being deprived of their constitutional right to the food they want to eat—healthy or not, simple or exotic, raw or plasticized—is welcome to do so, but this complaining is merely a way of attempting to evade the responsibility laid upon us when we left Eden.

We have been separated from the firsthand production of food for so many generations that not only has the skill been forgotten, but we consider it our birthright to be able to live where we choose, how we choose, doing what we choose, and to simply pay for everything by working at what we choose. This has been the norm for what seem like ages: why would we view the world any other way?

So aside from a few backyard tomatoes or strawberries, we scarcely expend any firsthand toil for our food supply--until it is suddenly disrupted by power outages, or droughts and shortages, or raids and seizures by various government authorities. Then we complain and blame and point angry fingers and become rather indignant. But in truth, we have only ourselves—and the generations immediately preceding us—to blame.

Over and over again, we have chosen to divorce ourselves from the land, from the nurturing of life that sustains life, to the point where we are occasionally deluded enough to demand that our lives be sustained by other means. This choice--however natural it may seem within the context of our society--is nevertheless a choice to forsake the virtue inherent in producing one’s own food.

Food production is more than a business, and access to food is dependent upon more than merely supply and demand. Surely we learned that lesson with the shortages we experienced over the past year. But likewise, our expectation that we ought to be free to make a living making nothing more than money—with which we can buy necessities like food—is based on nothing more than the tenuous relationship between an unsustainable urban population, unsustainable agricultural methods, and unsustainable methods of distribution.

When we read the bible, we invariably find an absolute continuity between man, animal and land. In fact, we often fail to appreciate the enormity of some of the feats described therein because of our ignorance of this bond. We have been liberated from the slavery of living by the sweat of our brows. But in return, we have been willingly enslaved by the innumerable middlemen that have stepped into the void we have created between us and the fruit of the earth.

In the years to come, if we expect not only to have our food the way we want it, but even to have adequate food at all, we are going to be forced to produce it ourselves. We can continue to delude ourselves as long as the status quo holds out, but the status quo is changing right beneath our feet. We can no longer afford to depend entirely on commerce for our food supply.

Part of the reason for this is that those who do supply that food will continue to experience deflation in prices, but not necessarily a deflation in costs. With a consumer base that is increasingly unable to afford anything but the basics, the lucrative niche market in organics and other exotics is going to melt away. As with most other industries right now, the suppliers will be thinned out, and those that remain will struggle mightily.

To be sure, the sphere of food production is rank right now with unjust regulations and downright dastardly dealings.

Equally sure is the necessity to fight that injustice in every way possible.

But the best way to make a true and lasting difference in the lives of all involved is to take matters into our own hands—literally. We must produce as much of our own food as possible. Not only will it be the freshest, healthiest possible food, but in doing so, we are freed from the bondage of dependence on the rules, regulations and methods of Big Ag. Easier said than done, sure. For many, it may be more or less impossible. But our lives may depend on it before long…

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Irresistible...

Courtesy of Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con blog, this lovely ad which sums up the general feeling about the latest bailout: (Click on the link above to see the original full size image...the fine print is worth it...)
'nuff said.

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Busted.

I am finding it very hard to not take pleasure in another's misfortune, but this bit of divine justice is just irresistible: The arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The only politician I can think of that deserves it more is Daley himself, but he'll be getting it eventually too.

Relish this image:

When I think of the crap Blowhardevich has pushed through the Illinois legislature...guhhhhh!

And what a string of Holidays it's been! St. Nicholas Day, Pearl Harbor Day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, now this!!! I think this calls for a big gooey dessert with dinner! We'll make something entirely new, and we'll call it "just deserts"...


UPDATE: When on a restricted diet as we are, it is especially hard to think of a really decadent dessert to fit the bill...but I managed to think of just the thing: I had just bought a bunch of hazelnuts from the store and had never made anything with them...so we crushed them up and made SCD-legal gianduia...mmmmmmm...
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The false god of Convenience

If a man is judged by what—and whom—he surrounds himself with, what chance have any of us? Jesus himself said that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to gain the kingdom of heaven. Most of us do not consider ourselves “rich”, yet if we compare the average American (or other first world citizen) to the rich men of Christ’s time, we cannot help but see the disparity.

Stop and ask yourself: how much of my life is dependent upon convenience? Better yet, turn the question around: How much inconvenience is there in my life, and how well do I cope with it? The devil is in the details, they say, and never does this saying feel more true than when we find ourselves stuck dealing with details without the help of some sort of convenience, whether it is a computer or an appliance or a car or even just a steady supply of electricity.

Our lives are so filled with conveniences, we couldn’t count them if we tried! We wake up in the morning thanks to our alarm clocks; we get ready for our day with the help of indoor plumbing, heated water, and various commercial grooming products and appliances. Our sheets, blankets, mattresses, pillows, towels, clothes, and shoes are mass produced and affordable. Our meals, whether cooked from scratch or pre-prepared, are readily available from local supermarkets or restaurants, prepared and stored in any number of convenient contraptions and containers. We get around with machines requiring little more than the turn of a key and periodic maintenance: with cars parked conveniently in our attached garages, with bikes, with readily accessible trains and buses, with elevators and escalators. We can fill our time during the commute with radio, CD’s, books or recorded books, all in air conditioned or heated comfort.

Most of us then spend our day utilizing myriad conveniences that run the gamut from specialized office equipment to state-of-the-art machinery to the tiniest of labor-saving devices. We are blasted with information from all directions through news and advertising. We connect with others by phone or e-mail or blogs or websites or even webcams; we entertain ourselves with orgies of conveniences: TV, movies, video games, music, comfortable furniture; we attend millions of activities and venues and special interest groups. We can even enjoy sports without actually partaking in them or even being present.

When it gets dark, we flip a switch. With almost no effort, our houses stay warm or cool. With slightly more effort, our clothes and dishes are clean and dry. We may even have the convenience of having someone else do all the cleaning, mowing and other maintenance for us.

When we fall ill, we have merely to pop an over-the-counter medication, or visit our doctor for other magic pills. Through the convenience of insurance, it’s all covered. Even when heart disease or cancer or diabetes threaten, we can rely on the convenience of modern medicine to rescue us from the inconvenience of changing our habits.

And that is really what it comes down to: habits. When our habits revolve around ease, comfort, and convenience, it is all too easy to view inconvenience as if it were the root of all evil. Which brings me back to my question: How much inconvenience is there in my life, and how well do I cope with it? Most of us—myself included—have a conditioned response of impatience with these annoyances. Worse yet, we undergo endless anxiety in the name of maintaining--or expanding--our level of convenience.

When the person in the car in front of you is being a doofus, how do you react? What happens when you have to wait in a long line? Can you keep your cool when something breaks down? When you are stuck in a protracted power outage, do you feel like you don’t know what to do with yourself?

Our dependence upon the constant convenience of our lives distracts us from our humanity—from our strengths and our frailties—but most of all, it distracts us from the sense that out there exists that than which no greater thing can be imagined…

Though it is not necessary to be a Luddite in order to effectively contemplate the divine, the spiritual benefits we gain through the discipline of ‘doing things the hard way’ are unmistakable.

For when we look at the things that truly matter in our lives, we find that, invariably, they are inconvenient, messy, and downright hard-to-deal-with. Yet the rewards far outweigh the hassle—and when we seek to avoid the trouble of dealing with them, our lives are ever less rich and meaningful (though we sometimes fail to realize it). These nuisances may include relationships with others…raising children…making or building or creating things…learning new skills…breaking bad habits…practicing virtue…going to church/praying the rosary, etc… What would you add to this list?

So would I be ecstatically happy if I were suddenly uprooted from my life and sent to live among the Amish? I doubt it. But I have no doubt that I would grow spiritually from the experience in ways that are utterly impossible to predict.

…Amish boot camp for the spiritually congested…now there’s a concept!

In sum, there is a good reason why we often use the word virtue when we speak of hard work, but not when we speak of using the many conveniences listed above. The good news is that we can practice that virtue without becoming a hermit in the desert. Recognizing conveniences for what they are—merely conveniences, and not necessities—is of the utmost importance. Whether we manage to divorce ourselves from them physically or only spiritually, entirely or only partially—the greatest hope we can have of avoiding the fate of the rich man is to set about extricating ourselves from our relationship with comfort and with convenience.

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Humility: the long-lost little sister

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for man to come to grips with is impotence. (And I don’t mean the Viagra kind…) When we are given to see what is happening around us, yet we are powerless to do anything at all about it, the need for humility before the power of God is awakened. Such lessons have a great potential for being extraordinarily painful, for we so easily forget that control over our own lives is no more than an illusion. When we intensely feel that we are not in control, frustration, depression, impatience and despair can quickly overwhelm us.

One of the most thorough ways of learning this lesson is by raising children. When they are young, it is both easy and imperative that we exert control over their lives; as they grow, our control over their lives diminishes more each year. Sometimes the pain of being unable to keep them from harm is excruciating, no matter how insignificant that harm may be in the grander scheme of things.

But most of all, when our lives experience significant upheaval--when we are faced with the inability to know how to plan our lives--and we must trust not only in God's will for us, but also His timing, the only answer is a bonecrushing lesson in patience and faith. These are the times that try men's souls, said Thomas Paine, and he knew what he was talking about.

This too is a gift we can lay on the altar of our personal sacrifices. Humility is really a long-lost little sister who must be embraced with joy, however bittersweet. For we must remember that when it is God’s will that opposes us, it is for a very good—if unseen—reason. To bear good fruit, a tree must be trained and pruned; just so are our lives in the Master’s hands.

And so we give thanks for the lessons that impotence brings us and learn to love the scourges of the Lord.

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