“On Crying”
May 4, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
Crying can be good for the soul
It can be good for mental health
It can be quite like a good sweat
As tears flow helping you feel whole
But you have to know when to stop
Like virtue there’s a golden mean
Of deficiency and excess
Cry too much…and you need the mop
Cry too little…it’s bottled up
And then the feelings trouble you
Aurea mediocritas
Is fine—much like a half-filled cup
Miscellaneous Meanderings on the signs of the times (Vol. 10, No. 120)
Dr. Mark S. Latkovic
May 1, 2020
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
~This is an important article for our present times. “Coronavirus Pandemic & Pro-Life Cause: When They Collide” (see https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/pro-life-or-not-in-a-pandemic/). Of course, it’s true that one has to be pro-life at all times and in all cases, but one also has to define what it means to be pro-life. Or, better yet, one has to define what it means to be pro-life in a particular situation – in this situation or that situation (see also https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-ethics-of-life-at-cnn/).
~It’s hard to fill your calendar in in the age of COVID—19.
~The various CDC guidelines for the novel coronavirus can be found on its website (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html). But let’s remember to keep God’s “Guidelines” in mind too, i.e., the 10 Commandments (see Ex 20:1—17; Deut 5:6—21). They don’t change. And they’ll protect your spiritual and moral health.
~When this is all over we’re going to– if we haven’t already – appreciate how much we missed work and need work to live as human beings.
~The shamelessness of the media never ceases to amaze me.
~There is so much distrust in our country that when crises happen we don’t believe each other. The COVID—19 pandemic is a good example. Conservatives are so suspicious of the leftist media – and rightly so! – that when something like this happens, our (natural) and often justified first reaction is: It’s a hoax! It’s yet another plot to get Trump! It’s just the flu! For liberals, the reaction is: Racism! Xenophobia! An end to democracy! As Jonathan S. Tobin has written with respect to the current pandemic: We then all end up “reacting to the pandemic primarily as a political controversy rather than a public-health threat…” (See https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-conservative-and-liberal-pundits-underestimated-threat/).
~Imagine if COVID—19 was a disease largely in the out-of-the-way places, i.e., “flyover country.” In other words, imagine a serious condition that affected largely rural areas and thus largely Trump supporters. Would the media coverage be as intense and agree with the “every human life matters” sentiment to quote liberal Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D—NY)? I doubt it [cf. https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager].
~Even when the pandemic is over, never cease to remember that the media is garbage.
~They say, “On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact.” (See https://jamesclear.com/new-habit). This raises the question: How many good habits will be broken during the pandemic/quarantine/stay-at- home orders? How many bad habits will form? We are getting close to that 66 day mark.
~Given what I’ve read, I’m wondering: Could the Haribo gummy bears be used as a substitute for that retched drink they make you consume before a colonoscopy?
~Kyle Smith’s “The Experts Lied to Us about Masks” (see https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/the-experts-lied-to-us-about-masks/) raises this question for me: If our health authorities did not recommend wearing masks (until reversing course in early April) to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus because they feared people would use up the supply, thus denying them to health care workers on the front lines, wouldn’t mask-wearing have helped to prevent the spread of the virus in the first place and keep people out of hospitals?
~One small problem I have with those who propose that people leave their homes in cars to go to church parking lots for outdoor Mass, and thus act contrary to some of the “stay at home” orders (except for certain “necessities”), is that they have to risk getting in car accidents and police coming to the scene to then be in potential contact with infected people. Admittedly, some of these “stay at home” orders are arguably extreme (e.g., the governor of Michigan’s extended and expanded executive order, “Stay Home, Stay Safe,” https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90487-525173–,00.html, prevented paid lawn care. She has since loosened some of these restrictions in late April, including the latter). But overall I’d rather get through this sooner than later, i.e., we don’t want to have to do this all over again.
~Where have all the criminals gone during the pandemic? Where has all the crime gone?
~Where have all the heart attack victims gone? (See https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/well/live/coronavirus-doctors-hospitals-emergency-care-heart-attack-stroke.html). Well, maybe they’re still there, but they’re labeled COVID—19 deaths (e.g., see https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2020/04/08/its-not-what-she-said-its-why-would-we-ever-do-it-that-way-n2566561). The author of the NYT piece doesn’t mention this point.
~“Trump could face international human rights law consequences for his coronavirus pandemic response” (see https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-coronavirus-response-international-human-rights-law-us-cases-a9459731.html). Just Trump, of course. Not China, not WHO, not some governors and mayors. Sure. Here are the last two paragraphs of this ridiculous article: “There is no doubt that Covid—19 became a pandemic because of the nature of our highly scientific, technological and interconnected society. Our global community is also cracking under the unprecedented pressure of rapid and complex changes in our physical world – the climate crisis, armed conflict, capitalism, urbanization, and vast social inequity have all contributed.
It will take science, technology and the rule of law to restore justice in our nation. And if this crisis has taught us anything, it’s that some things can’t wait.” There’s much to say in response to this piece. I’ll say just one: It was the Chinese communist government that insured that “COVID—19 became a pandemic.”
~I think the author of this article (see https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/04/08/faith-fear-death-coronavirus) provides some much needed balance when it comes to the question of whether Christians should fear death. I have seen many of my men friends say that we shouldn’t have fear, that we shouldn’t fear death. That fear is of the Devil. Well, yes and no, I would say. For one, we need fear to motivate us and we need to recognize death for the horrific enemy that it is. But, of course, we also know that we have a Savior who has defeated death and rescues us from its terror.
~“Federal Judge Blocks Alabama from Banning Abortions during Coronavirus Lockdown” (see https://www.nationalreview.com/news/federal-judge-blocks-alabama-from-banning-abortions-during-coronavirus-lockdown/). “Based on the current record, the defendants’ efforts to combat COVID-19 do not outweigh the lasting harm imposed by the denial of an individual’s right to terminate her pregnancy, by an undue burden or increase in risk on patients imposed by a delayed procedure, or by the cloud of unwarranted prosecution against providers,” the judge wrote. These days, it seems the one and only thing that trumps efforts to fight the new coronavirus is access to abortion!
~“In Easter message, Pope Francis proposes universal basic income” (see https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/04/12/easter-message-pope-francis-proposes-universal-basic-income). This is a bad idea: economically, morally, and spiritually.
~One small good thing – and admittedly it’s a mixed blessing – about the shutdowns during the pandemic: there’s no rush hour.
~Stupidity in the age of the novel coronavirus: It has increased exponentially along with the virus.
~Have you ever had a pain that bothered you and then you got another pain and that second one took your mind off of the first one?
~It’s astounding when you think about it: In just the first half of the 20th century, there were two major world wars, two atomic bombs dropped, the birth of communism, a global depression, and a worldwide pandemic.
~Two comments about the environment – one by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and one by Pope Francis – show contrasting views (see https://townhall.com/columnists/timgraham/2020/04/24/earth-day-dunking-on-humans-n2567518). This article is well worth reading.
~As the stay-at-home orders are set to continue until May 15 (at least as of now here in MI), I find myself saying: it’s been _____ weeks since I was last at work; it’s been _____ weeks since I last drove a car; it’s been _____ weeks since I last played with my granddaughter; it’s been _____ weeks since I last attended Mass. And I’m still counting… As I write this on April 30th, I have already far surpassed the old “records” for all of these activities.
~Here’s to prayers for both anti-viral drugs (the FDA has approved Gilead’s remdesivir for emergency use) and an ethically-developed vaccine to beat the virus (for both, see https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-29/trump-s-operation-warp-speed-aims-to-rush-coronavirus-vaccine; on an ethical vaccine, see https://youtu.be/x6ZThHkv0cA).
“The Old Man on the Sea”
April 29, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
I remember reading over 40 years ago about the old man and the sea
I remember how he waved goodbye and turned his back on me
He started floating out drifting far away until I couldn’t see
Where exactly the old man was sailing for the life of me
I thought that we were friends but now I watched him flee
Far far away he sailed from his strange life and history
Although it’s hard to imagine he’d still be sailing on the sea
Who knows where he — if living — and his sailboat might be
“Trudging Through the Frozen Snow”
April 28, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
I remember as young boys
Trudging through the frozen snow
Which would make the same noise
As chewing crunchy cereal
And when we did so in the evening
And the sky was crystal clear
We could hear a muffled echo
Bouncing off our frozen ears
“All My Fears of Drowning”
April 28, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
I used to think you couldn’t drown
Unless you were in deep water
But in the time of this pandemic
You don’t even have to leave your home
To have your lungs fill up with fluid
(Sure you can drown in your own bathtub
But I’m one who takes only showers)
So forget drowning in the lake
It’s clear if they have to intubate
It’s time to fight the drowning fate
“A Flash in the Night”
April 28, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
I find my life flash before my eyes
In a single act of dark sorrow
I feel I’m drowning in the ocean
And in all my fears of tomorrow
But what of Jesus who cried blood tears?
Or when on the boat he calmed the sea?
Shouldn’t this be enough love for me?
Shouldn’t it from my fears set me free?
“Childhood Games”
April 27, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
Many times when I was very young
I would play a silly solo game
I would stare at religious pictures
To see if they would leap from their frame
Of course no one ever came to life
No matter how long or deep my gaze
Was fixed on what hung upon the wall
So I soon outgrew this childhood phase
But then as I grew a bit older
I heard stories of weeping statues
I thought maybe my childhood staring
Could be less fiction than something true
“Seeing Things with Eyes Opened”
April 27, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
You can look at the same old pictures and see the same old things
But then your eyes are opened and you see things you never did
Sometimes you see a much younger man looking out at you
And notice what was behind his smile hidden out of view
Other days you recognize a father you never thought you knew
Because now his dreams for you have in fact become true
You might even call this realization a kind of revelation
When your eyes are opened you see the things hidden away
But whatever it is you see you see it in a new way
“Vanishing Acts”
April 20, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
Lives vanish
Like footprints
On a carpet
Vacuumed over
“Tenses”
April 20, 2020
Mark S. Latkovic
The past tense
Has such a sad sense
The future tense —
Mysteriousness
The present tense
Has neither pretense
mlatkovic 