Dear Readers,
Plenty of new material in this week’s Second Drafts, including my attempt at an inaugural address and a video podcast I took part in to talk about a neat idea to help college students pay back student loans (if newly-installed President Joe Biden doesn’t do it for you first).
In the meantime, here are a couple of emails from readers of last week’s issue to get going:
“Thank you for your thought-filled words. It was such a pleasant surprise to have your Second Drafts show up in my inbox. I appreciate your take on justice, mercy, and rightness. These days I feel that some Christians have forgotten what it means to follow Jesus. We, as Christians, must focus on spreading love, not aggravating vengeful or hateful ways. We are all sinners, but we can help each other be more accountable and be bold in doing so (something I’m not great at). Your words are a way of reminding us to hold to that fundamental Christian truth. Thanks for the reminder.”
“Just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your thoughtful words portrayed in this week’s newsletter. I just finished reading through and immediately forwarded it on to my husband in hopes that the section on ‘being vital’ would be an encouragement to his own soul as he’s in limbo with a job situation…thank you for encouraging and discipling our little family from afar.”
I hope you’re enjoying Second Drafts and finding it worth your time. Thanks for reading.
Craig
PS: Though comments are turned off, you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback, ideas, links, etc. at cmdunham [at] gmail [dot] com. Just know that, unless you specifically tell me not to, I may quote you here (though it will always be anonymously).
Hot Takes
“After Biden Reestablishes Transgender Protections, Montana Lawmakers Move to Restrict Participation in School Sports”—Males competing as females seems all the rage now. Bolstered by one of President Biden’s first executive orders “combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation,” girls’ sports—at least the old-fashioned kind in which girls competed against girls—looks to go the way of the dodo. But perhaps not in the Treasure State:
“In Montana, lawmakers introduced a bill that would require public school athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex, effectively preventing transgender students from participating in gendered sports. The bill cites ‘inherent differences between men and women,’ including testosterone levels, which are already regulated by ruling bodies such as the NCAA. The association requires one year of hormone treatment as a condition prior to competing on a female team.”
Critics of Montana’s potential legislation are making the issue about opportunity:
“‘It is unconscionable that Montana lawmakers are focused on restricting transgender and non-binary youth’s ability to play school sports in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic and economic turmoil. Transgender students, like all students, deserve the chance to learn teamwork and to build self-esteem and a sense of belonging with their peers through sports,’ said Sam Brinton, VP of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project.”
The root of the controversy has to do with the misunderstanding of the concepts of sex and gender, biology and identity. That said, the result of the controversy (though we’ll see what happens in Montana) is going to end up being that biological males who claim to be female can now compete against other biological females, which will destroy the integrity of women’s sports, which ironically had been protected by the federal government’s Title IX legislation.
So much for being the “administration of science,” but what else does one expect when considering Biden’s pick for assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services? Or the fact that The White House website now makes a point to ask for one’s preferred pronouns?
“Bozeman School Board Approves More than $290,000 in Severance for Superintendent”—Here’s a Bozeman story riling the locals (and justifiably so):
“The trustees voted unanimously to approve the severance for Superintendent Bob Connors, who was placed on administrative leave for an alleged policy violation pending a performance review in early November. The meeting lasted about 10 minutes, and no new details about why Connors was placed on leave were shared.
The severance agreement, which was reached by lawyers representing the school board and Connors, says “certain disputes and disagreements have arisen” between the district and Connors over his job duties. ‘The bottom line is both parties have agreed to move on,’ Chairperson Sandy Wilson said during the meeting.”
The problem is that while both parties have agreed to move on, the public hasn’t; parents and taxpayers are livid about the lack of transparency and unknown rationale surrounding the payout. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle even filed a lawsuit in Gallatin County District Court against the school district to try to secure records related to the board’s decision to place Connors on leave.
$290,000 severance, no questions answered. Nice termination if you can get it.
President Dunham’s Inaugural Address
As my own “foolish fantasy,” the vocation of speech writing has always been a dream, as there’s something I enjoy about taking and translating the ideas of one to the many. On the heels of our nation’s most recent inaugural address, I thought it would be fun to see what I might come up with if I were President and my own speech writer. Keep me in mind for 2024.
My fellow Americans,
It is perhaps now—at this very moment with a cage of our own making standing between us—that I fully recognize how ridiculous we have made the Office of the President of the United States. It is a role that has become a caricature of what it was first meant to be, and yet less than 100 years after our founding, such exaggeration did not go unseen by those watching even then. As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1831,
“In the United States as elsewhere, parties feel the need to rally round one man so as to make themselves more easily known to the crowd. Therefore, they exploit the name of the candidate for the presidency as a symbol and personify their own theories in him. Thus, parties are strongly involved in tipping the election in their favor, not so much to promote the triumph of their own ideas with the help of a President-elect as to prove by his election that these ideas have gained a majority."
For both of our modern day parties, winning the Presidency has become the ultimate confirmation bias; if you can win the White House, you can be confident your ideas—even if they’re poor—are at least popular. This is why Americans love their Presidents: they personify the hope that “might makes right,” and what is mightier in the eyes of Americans than having the leader of the free world on your side? This populist premise, unfortunately, is what a modern election of a President has been built upon.
But today, as your new President, it is my duty to warn you that, regardless of your political party, I am going to disappoint you in a most equal-opportunity manner. As we all know—but somehow over centuries have yet to accept—the President cannot be all things to all people, so here on day one, I will not pretend that I can be. I am not omniscient; I am not omnipresent; I am not omnicompetent. Perhaps the greatest service I can do on your behalf is to recognize and revisit these realities throughout my Presidency (though I am sure you will do your best to remind me on a daily basis).
This does not mean that I cannot do anything; it just means that I cannot do everything. If I am to serve four years—eight if so allowed—my term will only be a fraction of the time it has taken for our society to stumble how it has. To coin a phrase, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and neither will the United States be rebuilt in even a two-term Presidency. We all need to make peace with this fact now, not later, for much to the chagrin of some, the challenges we face are larger than one Presidency; in addition to mine, it is going to take those who would come after me—whom I hope to inspire—to continue to make progress on behalf of the United States of America.
As President, one of my practical goals is to be less seen and heard than most of my predecessors; familiarity, after all, breeds contempt. You do not need to see my face on the news every night, nor do you need to hang on every word I say for me to do my job. Despite what it has been made into in recent administrations, this role was never intended to be about the one who fills it; thus, I’m going to do everything I can to resist the ills of narcissism, stay out of any limelight, and just work to fulfill the duties of my oath, which I trust will be a little easier for me simply because I don’t play golf.
I don’t plan to “fight” for anything or anyone; for years this “war” rhetoric has caused greater and greater division among Americans, so it seems unwise to continue the trend, particularly with Congress. I do look forward to rigorous debate and fact-based decisions to arrive at what seems best, but all with a commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder rather than face-to-face in doing so on behalf of the people who elected us.
I do not plan to speak of my color as either a privilege or a problem (or both), nor do I intend to send mix messages as to whom I appoint and why with regard to my running mate and cabinet. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I, too, long for the day when we live in a nation in which we judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Qualification for the position is the goal; if it’s historic, so be it, but I will not appoint anyone (nor not appoint anyone) because of what he or she looks like.
There is a difference between being “woke” and “awake”; the former makes one look good, while the latter makes one look out for the good for others. Virtue-signaling is not a virtue; on the contrary, Aristotle’s twelve virtues—courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, ambition, patience, friendliness, truthfulness, wit, modesty, and justice—are those that can and will change the world, but only when mixed with a heaping helping of faith, hope, and love for others.
I will not allow this Office to be overtaken by an evangelical Christian nationalism that speaks of theocracy, an in-name-only Catholicism that reeks of hypocrisy, nor a secular humanism that seeks democracy by sacrificing to the fascist god of technology. Rather, I will do my best to govern with genuine gratitude and recognize the smallest of human needs, modeling the same desperate dependence upon Providence expressed by President George Washington in his 1789 inaugural address:
“It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either.
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.
These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence.”
By God’s grace to this point, I have honored my marital vows, and I now faithfully commit to honor the oath of this Office and its duties inherent to the best of my ability—preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution of the United States, so help me, God.
Still, I will make mistakes; I will disappoint; and I will frustrate. Ultimately, and despite my best efforts, my tenure as President is sure to fall short of both of our expectations, for notwithstanding precious rare moments of glory, to fall short is the human condition. I can only ask for your forgiveness now, but I will not ask for your ignorance—you deserve to know the truth, and I will do my best to ensure that you do.
As your President, I ask for your prayers—for humility, wisdom, and a faith that hopes beyond my own pride, foolishness, and fear. For truth, goodness, and beauty to be incarnate in my attempt, I entrust myself to Providence and say to Him, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”
I thank you for blessing me with this privilege to lead and serve. It is my hope that this privilege would somehow become a blessing for you and yours, America and the world.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Post(erity): Top Ten Signs You Know It’s Finals Week
Each week, I choose a post from the past that seems apropos of something (of course, you’re always welcome to search the archives yourself whenever you like).
In honor of my two high school-aged daughters who are finishing up their first semester final exams today, I went back and found a post from one of my own end-of-semester exam experiences. This week’s post, “Top Ten Signs You Know Its Finals Week,” is from May of 2007, when I was about to finish my second year of seminary at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. Enjoy.
Peaches’ Picks
Peaches and I started Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven last weekend, which is basically Cormac McCarthy meets The Walking Dead (minus zombies), with an evil incarnation a la The Stand being countered by a band of musicians and thespians trying to bring meaning through the works of Shakespeare and the inspiration of Star Trek (“Survival is insufficient”) to a world desolated by (get this) a pandemic. Good writing, clever structure, interesting characters, but the final battle was way too fast.
Friends Doing Cool Things
I was a guest on my friend Seth Hurd’s video podcast last night. I agreed to do it because I wanted to show support for a new idea he and his friend Drew have had as an alternative to the government paying off your student loans. Here are the details:
“For decades, student loans have been a seemingly unbeatable problem. Tuition prices rise faster than wages. Yet more jobs require post-high school education. It's difficult to make a living (and a life) without education.
But too often the debt from that education becomes crushing, keeping student debtors from moving through life stages (buying a home, marrying and having children), which harms the economy as a whole.
Would student loan forgiveness on a mass scale be better? Maybe. But since we're a couple of regular Joes and not government leaders, we wanted to do something about all too common stories like this one.
Student loan debt is a huge problem, but not an impossible one. The solution comes through community relief. Up to 25% of successful crowdsourcing projects are for personal medical bills, an idea which would have once been taboo. We're building the solution to do the same thing with student loans...to bring a community solution to a life altering burden.
Why would someone donate to student loans?
Scholarships in Reverse—A good number of scholarship recipients flunk out after too many keg stands. A donation to a working adult is proof that the money will make an immediate impact.
Supporting Public Good—Some people are called to careers that have an earning cap. The teacher in a low-income school will never earn Wall Street money, but is performing an essential good for society. We can all make the world a little better by helping these angels among us escape from life-killing student loans.
Unshackle the Economy—When individuals stop putting off life stages (purchasing a home, marriage and children) due to student loan debt, everybody wins. At the local level, neighborhoods and communities improve when renters become home owners. At the national level, all sectors of the economy do better when people have money to spend, save and invest which previously wen to debt.
Seth and Drew are launching a more official website soon, so to be contacted when it’s up, share your email. You may also want to watch more videos about the idea here.
Fresh Linkage
Your Friendly Neighborhood Historian—When we lived in Colorado Springs, we went to church with a couple named Bill and Polly Petro. Bill is an amateur (and excellent) historian whose blog I’ve followed for years. Like me, he has recently migrated his posts to Substack, so check him out and subscribe.
Why Subscribe?
Why not? Second Drafts is a once-a-week newsletter delivered to your inbox (you can also read it online or through your RSS reader) and it’s totally free. (Note: If you’d rather not subscribe, that’s fine. However, a la The Peanut Butter Falcon, I won’t invite you to my birthday party.)
Keep Connected
Comments are turned off, but you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback or ideas at cmdunham [at] gmail [dot] com. Just know that, unless you specifically tell me not to, I may quote you (though it will always be anonymously).
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