VICE SQUAD: MIKE PENCE VS. KAMALA HARRIS - P.38 - World Magazine
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E A R N I N G Y O U R T R U S T, E V E RY D AY.
1 0.1 0.20 VO LU M E 3 5 N U M B E R 19
VICE SQUAD:
MIKE PENCE VS.
KAMALA HARRIS
P. 38
“INDIA NOW REALIZES ITS LARGEST CHALLENGE IS NOT PAKISTAN, BUT CHINA.” —P. 46
F E AT U R E S
1 0.1 0.20 VO LU M E 3 5 N U M B E R 19
46
BRAWLS IN THE HIMALAYAS
A deadly border clash between Chinese and Indian troops has put relations
between the two most populous countries in the world on a precipice
by June Cheng
38 52 58
PRO S E C U TOR A N D PE R S E C U TOR CA L L I N G ON A F IG H T E R TO F IG H T FA L L I N G BAC K W I T H LO OK S
Kamala Harris has a complicated record, Most pro-lifers are enthusiastic AT T H E PA ST
but her zeal to support abortion and about President Donald Trump’s record FALL BOOKS: Twenty-five history books
attack its opponents has been consistent on abortion, but some say he could be— and biographies in a trying year
and should be—doing more
by Jamie Dean by Marvin Olasky
by Leah Hickman
CHANNI ANAND/AP 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD
DEPARTMENTS
1 0.1 0.20 VO LU M E 3 5 N U M B E R 19
5 MAILBAG 6 NOTES FROM THE CEO
11
People
gather at the
Supreme
Court on the
morning
after the
death of
Justice
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg.
Dispatches Culture Notebook
11 N E W S A N A LY S I S THE NEW 21 M O V I E S & T V 65 E D U C AT I O N
A new Supreme Court
opening ratchets up COURT OPENING Cobra Kai, Divided
Hearts of America,
Another shot for
college students
the tension of a stress-
IS LIKELY TO The Social Dilemma,
67 A RT S
MOVE THE
filled year Boys State, Challenger
NATIONAL
14 H U M A N R A C E 26 B O O K S 68 L I F E S T Y L E
Are you a racist?
FOCUS FROM
15 Q U O TA B L E S
28 C H I L D R E N ' S B O O K S Voices
16 Q U I C K TA K E S
A PHYSICAL 30 Q & A 8 Joel Belz
VIRUS TO A Wayne Grudem 18 Janie B. Cheaney
JUDICIAL VIRUS.
36 Mindy Belz
32 Q & A 70 Andrée Seu Peterson
ON THE COVER:
David French 72 Marvin Olasky
ILLUSTRATION BY KRIEG
BARRIE (Pence photo by
Andrew Harnik/AP; Harris 34 M U S I C
photo by Noah Berger/AFP Bowie and his fans
via Getty Images)
2 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP
BIBLICALLY OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM THAT INFORMS, EDUCATES, AND INSPIRES
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Marvin Olasky WORLD NEWS GROUP
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MAILBAG
RESCUE TEAMS NEEDED THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE PAST
AUG. 29, P. 72—BARRY BERTRAM/ AUG. 29, P. 30—MONICA BENNETT FIRCHOW
CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY. ON FACEBOOK
I had never heard of a “Siberian Excellent interview. It’s a clear expla-
Dilemma,” but it fits our situation in nation of the bigger problems with
our choice for president. We must the 1619 Project.
not give in since God is still on the
throne!
THE EVIL WITHIN
AUG. 15, P. 20—BOB MCKEE/HIGH POINT, N.C.
READ, LEARN, ENJOY I am struck by the need to understand
AUG. 29, P. 18—PHILLIP WOECKENER/ the evil within ourselves, the rescue
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
from outside of ourselves through
It takes work and effort to educate Christ, and the need to extend His
your children. But at the rate the grace and love to others still resisting
teachers unions are going, they’ll not or in process of discovery.
have to worry about having any chil-
dren left to teach.
PUBLIC SCHOOL
THOMAS CHRISTIANSEN/SEATTLE, WASH.
UNCERTAINTIES MAILBAG
AUG. 29, P. 5—PHYLLIS BRUMM/HASTINGS, MICH.
Via a videoconferencing app, I started The phrase “police I’m disappointed you have reduced
Grandpa’s homeschool lessons for my their children” Mailbag to just one page. I find the
seven grandchildren. Our daily les- letter writers insightful and helpful
sons are less than five minutes on
during virtual in putting topics in perspective. You
random topics: classical music, how education is have pages of entertainment, books,
to tie a square knot, English language misleading for and other articles I skip over. You
idioms (the kids’ favorite), antonyms seem to lack balance.
versus synonyms, etc. It helps me con-
parents. To train up
nect with my grandkids and provides a child, I suggest
a needed break for their moms. “supervising” and THE SIFT AND WORLD WATCH
“mentoring” offer a LINDA WEST/RANCHO BERNARDO, CALIF.
I am a longtime reader of WORLD
EXPANDING THE FAMILY better mindset. Magazine, and more recently I started
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OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. WEST MELBOURNE, FLA. Watch each morning. Because my
Joel Belz’s very informative column local newspaper has grown more and
omitted one bit of history that some more progressive, I had this thought:
of us old-timers remember: the birth I pay for a subscription to the paper,
of WORLD out of the ashes of the old so I like the idea of starting a regular
Presbyterian Journal. I recall the donation to support WORLD.
early struggles and am pleased to see
what has evolved over the years. Keep
up the good work! CORRECTIONS
The documentary Uncle Tom (“On a
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
lonely road,” Aug. 29) has no affilia-
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Café hosted an open mic night every
to keep trying to heal our culture TWITTER @WNGdotorg Friday, led biweekly by Levin Lewis
inspired me to not give up and not INSTAGRAM instagram.com/WNGdotorg
(“Overflow of love,” Sept. 26, p. 61).
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1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 5
AS WE BEGIN TO
Notes from the CEO K EV I N M A RT I N
SEE THE BIG STORIES
AS PART OF GOD’S
PURPOSE, WE GAIN
AN ABILITY TO SEE
OUR SMALL STORIES
THE SAME WAY.
now I can hardly read or hear a news
story without adding that catchphrase
in my mind:
Coronavirus cases increasing? What-
ever the news, the purpose of the Lord
will stand.
A tense election? Whatever the news,
the purpose of the Lord will stand.
A longtime justice of the United
States Supreme Court passes away?
A robust theology of
Whatever the news, the purpose of the
Lord will stand.
reporting news
The stock market takes a big one-day
dip, or roars back without much expla-
nation? Whatever the news, the purpose
Current events are critical, but of the Lord will stand.
As we begin to see the big stories as
we exist to remind you the purpose part of God’s purpose—all within His
of the Lord will stand control and according to the counsel of
His will and for the good of those He
loves—we can begin to see our small
W
HATEVER THE NEWS, the purpose of the LORD will stand.” stories the same way. Sometimes it’s
We close every daily episode of WORLD Watch, WORLD’s easier to trust that God has a purpose
news program for students, with that Biblical catchphrase. in a global pandemic than to trust that
It’s based on Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in the He has a purpose in the loss of a job, or
mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will the loss of a relationship, or the loss of
stand.” our health.
It’s much more than a catchphrase, though. Only God knows what the news will
Those few words represent the theological underpinning hold over the next few months—we can
of our entire journalistic endeavor, whether the journalism shows up hope for specific outcomes, but our real
here in the pages of WORLD Magazine, the pages of our student news hope is in the trustworthy promises of
magazines, our podcasts, or—now—in our 10-minute daily video pro- the God who loves us and who is work-
gram for teens. ing in the world to accomplish His
We serve the God whom the Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians works purposes.
all things according to the counsel of His will—and, for His children,
works all things together for good, as He says in Romans. Our aim is for
our student viewers to begin to see God’s hand in everything that hap-
pens in the world, and in their own lives, even when they can’t discern
His reasons. The daily reminder is good for them.
And not just them, but all of us. I’ve heard it said nearly 100 times,
because we included it for the first time in our May 21 program, and EMAIL kevin@wng.org
6 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20
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WE CHRISTIANS ARE, IN
Voices J O E L B E LZ
THIS REGARD, VIRTUALLY
INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM
THE SOCIETY WE LIVE IN.
simple living. The guilt I suggest we ought to feel has
less to do with enjoying the good things God has made
than it does with the timing in which we are privileged
to enjoy them. Like the world around us, we Christians
tend to assume early enjoyment is our prerogative.
But Christians, of all people, should understand that
United we spend the Mastercard mentality is not the way to master life.
The pattern Jesus established was one of deferring
desires—not because the fulfillment of desire is wrong,
Americans don’t seem at all but because “my time has not yet come.” Most of us
divided when it comes to debt think our time has come five minutes after the desire
first pops into our minds.
Yet few concepts are more central to a Christian way
I
FINALLY FOUND SOME “common ground.” Not of thinking than the ideal of deferring a present desire—
quite what I was looking for, but as best I can in the confidence that something richer lies down the
tell, it’s an issue where Republicans and Dem- road. It is a constant and unrelenting theme of Scripture.
ocrats seem to have virtual agreement. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,”
They’ll do that by simply remaining silent. Jesus said, “it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much
The topic is debt retirement. I may repeat fruit.” Deferral now, rich reward later. He understood
myself—but it’s important to our families and the concept perfectly, and His obedience to the death of
businesses; our churches and schools; our city, the cross is, of course, the key to His and our future glory.
state, and national economies; and to the world. The theme permeates our lives. Train now, win the
It’s a current issue because here in the United States game later. Pull the weeds now, enjoy the sweet corn
we’ve just taken on some $3 trillion in brand-new debt. later. Skip the dessert now, enjoy a trim waistline later.
That’s $13,000 in new debt for every man, woman, The principle is everywhere except in our consumer
and child—which has now been added to the $100,000 consciousness. There, the infection still rages. And for
already owed by every individual coming into this such an infection to rage within the Christian commu-
most bizarre era. nity is costly in two ways.
How do we handle this? By staying silent on the First, it is costly in terms of wasted resources. In
subject—like our political “leaders”? following the world’s pattern of satisfying so many of
The sober fact is that we as a nation approach this our desires almost as soon as we feel them, we are
tough fiscal assignment with a credit-card mentality. spending far more than we should on interest, carrying
No need, we say, to tighten our belts and trim our charges, and fees. We would literally have 50 percent
budgets. We’ll just borrow our way out; that’s what more to spend on what we want—maybe even more—
we’ve always done. if we were patient to wait until the resources were in.
Well, maybe for the last generation or so. We are Think what impact that might have on the underfi-
a people unable to defer the gratification of our desires. nanced ministries of God’s kingdom.
By and large, we live in homes that are nicer than what Second, it is costly in terms of a wasted witness. If
our parents had at the same age. The same is true for Christians were known around the world as people who
cars, clothes, use of leisure time, travel and vacations, through their patience, thrift, and keen sense of pri-
and everything that drives our family budgets up, up, orities lived prosperous lives, the gospel they preach
and up. and teach would have more credibility than it does now
We Christians are, in this regard, virtually indistin- when so many of us spend most of our years playing
guishable from the society we live in. And by blending catch-up with the finance companies.
in with our surroundings, we are missing a strategic As it stands, our political leaders—from both par-
opportunity for witness to a key element of the gospel. ties—have nothing but silence when it’s suggested that
Make no mistake here. This is not another call to such basic principles of finance be applied to the
nation’s astonishing debt. And their silence is becoming
more and more deafening.
8 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 EMAIL jbelz@wng.orgCAN YOU HELP
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D I S P AT C H E S
News A n a lysis Hum an Rac e Qu o t ab l e s Qu i c k Take s
Heading toward Agincourt
A new Supreme Court opening ratchets up
the tension of a stress-filled year
by Marvin Olasky
T
HE WEEKEND THAT BEGAN AT DUSK on Friday, Sept. 18, brought us Rosh Hashana, the Signs and
flowers pay
Jewish New Year’s Day, and one more hard twist in a year, 2020, that already looks
tribute to
like three years—COVID-19 year, racial tensions year, and a knife’s-edge presidential Ruth Bader
election campaign—rolled into one. Ginsburg
The weekend began with the news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. President outside the
Supreme
Donald Trump’s initial response to the Supreme Court justice’s passing was gracious:
Court.
“Whether you agree or not ... she led an amazing life.” Ginsburg did. If you live in a
conservative bubble, either of two recent films that turned her into a pop culture
OLIVER CONTRERAS/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 11D I S P AT C H E S News A n a lysis
celebrity—RBG and On the Basis of
Sex—is worth watching to learn how
the other half thinks.
Ginsburg also had an amazing
friend, the late Antonin Scalia. They
were opposites ideologically, but hours
after Ginsburg died, Scalia’s son Chris-
topher tweeted a story about Scalia
buying her two dozen roses for her
birthday. Asked if the gift softened her
up so she voted with him on a 5-4 deci-
sion, Scalia said, “Some things are more
important than votes.”
Saturday, Sept. 19, brought another
milepost on this memorable weekend:
the 100th birthday of America’s greatest
writer on baseball, Roger Angell. He’s
lost much of his sight but can still follow
games. Angell centered his greatest arti-
cle on what seems to me the greatest Ginsburg (left) speaks to Georgetown Uni-
versity law students in 2017; Scalia (right)
game ever, the sixth game of the 1975 speaks at Wesleyan University in 2012.
World Series on Oct. 21, 1975. When Carl-
ton Fisk ended it with a 12th inning
home run, Angell visualized Red Sox happy few, we band of brothers; for he
fans all over “dancing and shouting and today that sheds his blood with me shall
kissing and leaping about like the fans be my brother.”
at Fenway—jumping up and down in Even before Ginsburg’s death this
their bedrooms and kitchens and living coming presidential election looked like
rooms.” an Agincourt contest, with Donald I
I imagine that will be the reaction of trying to rally his forces against Demo-
millions of Christians and others some crats more numerous in polling and in
day when the Supreme Court reverses the House of Representatives. The
Roe v. Wade. Angell continued his Supreme Court opening ratchets up the
description: “And on back-country tension. Concerned Women for America
roads, a lone driver getting the news head Penny Nance says, “Our happy ESTEEM
over the radio and blowing his horn over warrior women are battle-tested.” Mar- LEADERS WHO
and over, and finally pulling up and get-
ting out and leaping up and down on the
jorie Dannenfelser, president of the
Susan B. Anthony List, calls on Trump
KNOW GOD’S
cold macadam, yelling into the night, and GOP leaders to “move swiftly to fill IN CHARGE.
and all of them, for once at least, utterly this vacancy.”
joyful and believing in that joy—alight How swift is swift? Eight months
with it.” Pro-lifers await that moment. before the 2016 election Barack Obama
Angell titled his essay “Agincourt nominated Merrick Garland for the
and after.” The Battle of Agincourt in Supreme Court seat suddenly vacant via
1415 was a smashing English victory over Scalia’s death. Republicans refused to
a far more numerous French army. It vote on it. Now, six weeks before the 2020
became grist for William Shakespeare’s election, Republicans are in a hurry.
eloquence. He has one noble, Westmor- True, in 2016 the White House and the
land, complain of having not enough Senate were in opposing hands: Now they
soldiers. Henry V replies, “The fewer are both in GOP control. True, Democrats
men, the greater share of honour. … But have also switched positions: “Just do it”
if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the in 2016 and “no, no, no” now. Neverthe-
most offending soul alive. … We few, we less, the switches supplement the Critical
12 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 GINSBURG: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; SCALIA: JESSICA HILL/APhand … on the other hand.” Harry Tru- So I have only three pieces of advice.
man, complaining about the conflicting The first is to read a variety of views,
advice economists offered him, said he not just those that confirm what you’ve
was looking for a one-handed economist. already decided. Here’s centenarian
Some WORLD members may be Roger Angell’s favorite joke: A beat-up
looking for the same, but our editors worker after a hard day comes into a
and reporters are unlikely to comply. diner and says, “Give me a cup of coffee,
Our operating principle of Biblical a piece of pie, and a few kind words.”
objectivity means that we present clear The waitress serves him the coffee and
views where the Bible is clear, as it often pie. He says, “Hey—where are the kind
is, but we don’t pretend to say “God words?” She leans over and says, “Don’t
saith” when God hasn’t saith whether it eat the pie.”
is wiser to push for a Supreme Court Second, read what the Bible says
vote before the election or wait. We all about people confident that they know
have our opinions, but we should exactly what “the smart play” is in judi-
acknowledge they are just opinions. cial nominations or theology. For exam-
On Aug. 14 and Sept. 1, I interviewed ple, Psalm 2 offers one of God’s favorite
two Christian conservatives, pro-Trump jokes: “The nations rage and the peoples
Wayne Grudem and anti-Trump David plot in vain. … He who sits in the heavens
French. You’ll see their arguments on laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”
pages 30-33. The new court opening is Third, esteem leaders who know
likely to move the national focus from a God’s in charge. A millennium ago King
physical virus to a judicial virus, which Canute’s kissing-up courtiers said he
Theory view that everything is a matter probably increases the pressure on pro- could control the ocean tides. Storyteller
of power, not principle. Evangelicals who life people who oppose Trump, but I’ve Henry of Huntingdon described Can-
have already abandoned the previous seen no indication of French modulating ute—king of Denmark, England, and
insistence that “presidential character his criticism. Instead, he noted on Sept. Norway—setting his throne at the sea-
matters” may gain more disdain. 20 that we are in for “another sharp shore and saying, as the incoming tide
Adding to the complexity: Scalia escalation in the culture war, and this wet the bottom of his robe, “Let all men
rightly said, “Some things are more escalation could well lead to a cascading know how empty and worthless is the
important than votes,” but some votes series of events that could strain the power of kings, for there is none worthy
are life and death. Shouldn’t we seize the constitutional and cultural fabric of this of the name, but He whom heaven,
opportunity to throw Roe v. Wade into nation.” earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.”
the dumpster of inhumane decisions next
to Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v.
Ferguson (“separate but equal”)? Yes, a
Roe v. Wade reversal that would empower
state legislatures won’t come close to
ending abortion—New York, California,
Illinois, and other blue states would still
be magnet murderers—but it would
probably save 100,000 lives per year.
On the other hand, Republicans can’t
act in a vacuum. If Mitch McConnell
pushes an affirmative vote on Trump’s
nominee and finds a way to have his
caucus hang together, the Democrats
have an obvious response if they win
the White House on Nov. 3 and gain a
Senate majority: Expand the court and
add two more liberal justices. (Or if the
radicals have their way, add six.)
And yet, as our Jewish brothers and
sisters celebrated Rosh Hashana, it was
all too easy in thinking through moves
and counter-moves to sound like Tevye
in Fiddler on the Roof: “On the other
EMAIL molasky@wng.org TWITTER @MarvinOlasky 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 13D I S P AT C H E S Hum an Ra c e AC C US E D
U.S. Attorney General William Barr
accused New York City, Seattle, and
Portland, Ore., of “permitting violence
and destruction of property” while fail-
ing to support the police and protect
their citizens. A memo President Donald
Trump sent earlier this month would
allow the federal government to desig-
nate the cities as “anarchist jurisdic-
tions,” which could cost them federal
grant money. Barr noted that New York
cut its police department budget by $1
billion despite a rise in shootings over
the past three months. He also cited
Portland’s refusal to accept federal law
enforcement support during more than
100 days of violent protests and Seattle’s
failure to shut down the Capitol Hill
Occupied Protest quickly in June.
REPORTED
A UN investigative team has accused the
Venezuelan government of “serious
human rights violations,” according to
the mission chairperson’s public state-
ment. Marta Valiñas went on to describe
crimes including arbitrary killings, the
use of torture, and violent government
response to opposition protests. The
A man kayaks to his house in floodwaters caused by Tropical Depression Beta. team concluded that these actions were
part of a coordinated government pol-
icy to terrorize and control the Venezu-
FLOODED AND BURNED elan people. The report cites 223 specific
cases and nearly 3,000 witnesses against
Disasters strike President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist
government. The report will be pre-
sented to the UN Human Rights Council
Flooding hits Texas, and wildfires continue before further action.
to scorch California
SPIKED
The 53 countries that make up the World
S
TREETS IN HOUSTON AND GALVESTON, TEXAS, flooded on Sept. 22 Health Organization’s European region
after Beta, a tropical depression, made landfall near Port O’Connor. confirmed more than 300,000 new
By that afternoon, Beta had dumped up to a foot or more of rain in COVID-19 cases in the second week of
areas south and east of Houston, on top of storm surges. Forecasters September. More than half of the coun-
started calling storm systems for letters of the Greek alphabet after tries reported a 10 percent or greater
going through their predetermined seasonal list of names based on jump in new infections in the past two
the English alphabet for the second time since the 1950s. weeks. Of those, seven saw a more than
Meanwhile, the Bobcat fire, which began Sept. 6 in northeast Los twofold increase. Dr. Hans Kluge, the
Angeles, continued to spread, scorching more homes and structures WHO’s European director, called it “a
in the mountainous area. The blaze had burned through 156 square wake-up call for all of us.” The United
miles, and many surrounding communities remained on evacuation Kingdom, meanwhile, reimposed a
alert. Firefighters in late September were still battling more than six-person limit on indoor or outdoor
two dozen major wildfires throughout California. groups in an effort to avoid another
nationwide lockdown as COVID-19 cases
increased.
14 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 STUART VILLANUEVA/THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS VIA APD I S P AT C H E S Q uo t ab l e s
“These battles are going to rage no matter what
the Supreme Court decides to do.”
ANDREW BATH of the Thomas More Society on how the reversal of Roe v. Wade
won’t mean the end of the abortion debate in America.
“Every week we gather to worship a Savior
who died for the whole world, not one part of it. What
we call ourselves should make that clear.”
J.D. GREEAR, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, speaking in favor of
changing the name of the Southern Baptists to “Great Commission Baptists.”
“Instead of us doing business with China and China
becoming more free, what has happened is a place
like China has bought our silence with their money.”
Flimmaker JUDD APATOW on Hollywood’s censoring of movies so as
not to offend China’s Communist government.
“It was 30 feet of flames on one side, 40 feet on the
other side, and I’m the piece of toast in the middle.”
Caretaker RON JARRIE, whose cabin was destroyed after he
escaped the North Complex fire in California.
“That’s definitely a MiG-29. I’m glad to see
it’s supporting our troops.”
PIERRE SPREY, who helped design both the F-16 and A-10 planes for the U.S. Air Force,
on an ad from the Trump campaign that urges readers to “support our troops”
but pictures a Russian jet in the background.
1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 152 AtheyFINEhaveMESS Italian authorities say
D I S P AT C H E S Q ui ck Ta ke s
fined a French tourist who
attempted to smuggle valuables out of
Sardinia. The fine: $1,200. The valuables:
about 4½ pounds of beach sand. A 2017
law prohibited stealing sand from Sar-
dinia’s beaches. A regional authority
passed the law after discovering the
unique pink or white sand for sale on
the internet. The Sept. 1 heist wasn’t the
first. “The bottle was confiscated and is
now in our operating room where we
hold these confiscated items,” a spokes-
man for Sardinia’s Forest Rangers told
CNN. “At the end of the year we usually
have many bottles of sand accumulated.”
Last year, authorities caught another
French tourist trying to pilfer 88 pounds
of sand.
3 police
GETTING HER GOAT A Georgia
officer has a good excuse for
not finishing her paperwork. The uniden-
tified Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy
returned to her car after serving papers
at a residence only to find a goat had
1
jumped in the opened door and was eat-
ing paperwork that had been left in the
passenger seat. The deputy struggled
with the animal, alternating between
trying to pull it out from the passenger
side and pushing the goat out from the
driver side of the cruiser. Finally, the
deputy was able to force the goat out of
the car. The goat managed to knock the
officer down during the ruckus, but nei-
ther the goat nor the officer was hurt.
LOST AND FOUND
4 AmanLESSON IN OVERKILL A French-
in Parcoul-Chenaud was trying
AFTER FOUR DAYS OF SEARCHING, the family of Harry Harvey planned to kill a housefly when he destroyed a
a press conference at a pub near Harvey’s last known location near portion of his home. Local French media
a national park. On Sept. 6, Harvey, 80, became separated from his reported the unidentified octogenarian
hiking partner during a hailstorm while walking in the Yorkshire was disturbed by the fly as he sat down
Dales National Park in northern England. Emergency crews searched for dinner. He grabbed an electric fly
for Harvey for days to no avail. Finally, his family called for a Sept. swatter and began swinging at the fly.
9 press conference at the Tan Hill Inn on the outskirts of the park. The swatter then ignited a leaking gas
As the family prepared for the event, a nature photographer spotted canister in the home, leading to an
Harvey walking in the park and called for help. The 80-year-old explosion that damaged his kitchen and
stunned his family and the assembled press when he walked in with the roof. The man escaped the explosion
a bandage on his head. Harvey said he lost his compass and tempo- with a burn to his hand. The fly’s fate is
rarily lost his glasses in a fall. He quickly found his orange-framed unknown.
glasses and was able to establish a campsite in the park with a tent
he had carried. Said Harvey: “I had three really good wild camping
nights where I was on my own and had all the kit I needed.” 5 THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE Officials
in Bristol, U.K., have shut down a
recurring silent dance party. The prob-
lem? It was causing too much noise.
16 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRIEG BARRIE (HARVEY PHOTO BY PETER HARBOUR/MIRRORPIX/NEWSCOM;
PARK PHOTOS BY KREUZSCHNABEL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, LICENCE: CC-BY-SA-3.0)According to neighbors, revelers gath- Scotch whisky to finance a down pay-
ered in Owen Square Park on Sept. 5 in ment on his first home. Each of the bot-
order to dance communally to music tles of Scotch has been a gift from his
blasted through headphones. And father, a native of Milnathort, Scotland.
though neighbors didn’t hear the music, Father Pete Robson purchased the first
they did hear the screaming—and the bottle of Scotch shortly after his son’s
gas-powered generators. After com- birth in 1992. Every year since, Robson
plaints to local police, local authorities bought another bottle for his son, leav-
issued an order giving officers the ability ing strict instructions not to open the
to shut down gatherings if they get too bottles. Now 28 years later, the younger
loud. Robson says he thinks he can fetch more
NGUYEN
than $50,000 for the entire collection.
6 shame
CALLING IT OFF Fool me once,
on you. Fool me 1,171 times, ASKED 911
Broker Mark Littler says buyers in New
York and Asia have shown interest in
shame on me. Police in Memphis, Tenn., DISPATCHERS purchasing the bottles.
IF THEY
have arrested a local man accused of
placing 1,171 phone calls to 911 since July
15. On Sept. 1 alone, police say Huu WOULD LIKE 9 time
WAVE OF THE PAST? For the first
since the 1980s, vinyl records
Nguyen dialed emergency services 241 TO PURCHASE outsold CDs in the United States. The
EGG ROLLS.
times. The next day, police say Nguyen Recording Industry Association of
called 911 an additional 32 times. During America reported $232 million in vinyl
one of the Sept. 2 calls, Nguyen asked sales during the first half of 2020, which
911 dispatchers if they would like to pur- made up “62 percent of total physical
chase egg rolls. In Tennessee, an aggra- revenues.” But this didn’t mean vinyl
vated nonemergency 911 call is a Class was all that popular: Even as vinyl
A misdemeanor offense. bested CDs, it only made up 4 percent
of total revenue for recorded music.
7 States
SENT THROUGH TIME The United
Postal Service delivered a
Streaming music, on the other hand,
made up 85 percent of revenue from
postcard to an address in Michigan just recorded music. Digital downloads
a few weeks shy of 100 years after its accounted for 6 percent of recorded
initial postmark. Brittany Keech of Beld- music revenue.
ing, Mich., discovered the Halloween
postcard in her mailbox on Sept. 8. After
observing the wear and tear of the mail-
ing, she noticed a George Washington
1-cent stamp and a postmark that read
Oct. 29, 1920. The cursive writing on the
back is from a child named Flossie Bur-
gess and is addressed to her cousins.
According to a USPS spokesman, letters
and postcards sometimes get lost while
at the post office. Whenever an old letter
is found, the agency attempts to deliver
it to the address listed or the addressee.
As for Flossie’s postcard, Keech says she
hopes to find and give it to a relative of
Flossie’s who will remember her. If she
can’t find a relative, then she’ll find out
whether the museum in Belding would
like to display it.
8 buy
BOTTLED BONANZA In order to
his first house, an Englishman
is hoping to liquidate his savings. Mat-
thew Robson of Taunton, U.K., is seeking
to sell 28 bottles of Macallan single malt
1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 17Voices JA N I E B. C H E A N EY Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Every-
body.
According to the authors, it began in the 1960s—
like so much else—with the broad acceptance of post-
modernism as an academic philosophy. “Po-Mo”
asserts that objective truth can’t be determined, that
knowledge is socially constructed, and that dominant
forms of knowledge always favor the dominant. So,
for example, it’s pointless to read Shakespeare for his
insight into humanity; the only purpose in studying
Shakespeare is to “deconstruct” him, to determine
how he privileges his own class and identity as a white
A pervasive theory male.
The problem with postmodernism was that, by
with no moral core rejecting absolutes and objective truth, it had no moral
core. But beginning in the 1980s, academics seized the
limp philosophy and repurposed its main tenets. If
Postmodernist dogma is knowledge was a social construct benefiting the pow-
everywhere now erful, we must make room for other “ways of knowing.”
If science was a tool of the white patriarchy, it couldn’t
be trusted. If indigenous groups, people of color,
I
READ ABOUT IT TWO YEARS AGO on The College LGBTQs, and the disabled had been kept down, it was
Fix. An academic article called “Human reac- time for them to step up.
tions to rape culture and queer performativity That’s how theory became Theory—not a disci-
at urban dog parks in Portland, Oregon” had pline, but a dogma. After destroying literature, it
been published in a feminist journal. It was marched through the social sciences and eventually
about “dog rape,” apparently. Were college invaded the STEM fields as well. And now, after two
professors actually writing—and publishing— decades of indoctrinating graduates whose diplomas
stuff like this? Right-wing education sites grant them access to high ranks of culture, corpora-
buzzed about it for days until the punchline hit: the tion, and government, Theory is everywhere. The
doggy piece was a hoax. Motion Picture Academy unveils diversity guidelines
But what a hoax—the brainchild of three liberal for Oscar-nominated movies. Corporations sponsor
professors who set out to test the limits of academic retreats for white males only, where participants con-
credulity. Of the 20 spurious papers they wrote (with fess “I am a racist” or write apology letters to female
titles like “An Ethnography of Breastaurant Masculin- colleagues. American schoolchildren learn that their
ity”), four were published, three were awaiting pub- country was built on racism and owes its wealth to
lication when the whistle blew, and five were under slavery.
consideration. President Trump has issued an executive order
The serious purpose behind the high jinks was to meant to purge diversity training, based on Critical
expose the sophistry of “grievance studies,” in which Race Theory, from federal agencies. That’s a step in
all social problems came down to oppression by white the right direction, but compared with the depth of
males. Stated the hoaxers, “[A] culture has developed the problem it looks like the tortoise just crawled off
in which only certain conclusions are allowed … and the starting line. It took decades for an inert academic
put social grievances ahead of objective truth.” philosophy to rise to rowdy life as activism and will
The university crowd was not amused. One of the take decades more to defeat it. Lindsay and Pluckrose,
three, philosophy teacher Peter Boghossian, imme- both agnostics, wistfully hope for a return to liberal
diately went under investigation for research mis- progressivism, of the kind that welcomes all opinions
conduct. Another, Helen Pluckrose, now declares to the public square and privileges none.
herself “an exile from the humanities” and resides But humans don’t operate that way. Societies need
in England with her family. The third, mathematician absolutes and moral standards. The spinelessness of
James Lindsay, has been promoting the book he wrote postmodernism is exactly what allowed activists to
with his colleague Pluckrose, Cynical Theories: How hijack it and now prevents them from moderating
Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, their own radicalism. The blunt narrative of oppressor
and oppressed won’t stand the test of time but can
wreak a lot of havoc before it falls.
18 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 EMAIL jcheaney@wng.org TWITTER @jbcheaneyWatch and Learn
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Mov ie s & T V B o o ks C hi l dre n’s B o o ks Q&A Mu s i c
WAX ON,
WAX OFF ...
AGAIN
Cobra Kai is a clever
reboot winning over
audiences
by Megan Basham
JACE DOWN/YOUTUBE RED/SONY PICTURES TELEVISION 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 21C U LT U R E Movi e s & T V students, a confused Johnny wonders if
it’s a prank call.
Is it only nostalgia and weariness with
a world that suddenly feels overrun with
hall monitors that’s won Cobra Kai
I
T’S A CINDERELLA STORY worthy of any cheesy sports movie. A few years legions of fans? No doubt that’s a signif-
ago, YouTube made a late, halfhearted attempt to enter the streaming icant factor. But the show isn’t politically
game. Most of its scripted series were flops. But it gambled with a reboot incorrect just for political incorrectness’s
of the 1984 film The Karate Kid with the original two stars (whom Amer- sake. Cobra Kai weighs what it means to
ica had barely heard from in decades). The show became a sleeper hit and be a man in a world that no longer seems
eventually landed a lucrative Netflix sale. to have any use for them. It looks at how
Once Cobra Kai hit that platform, it officially became the most popu- fathers, both biological and adopted,
lar show in the United States. shape their sons, and how growing up
It would be hard to find another ’80s update that’s even half as clever. without them is leading to extremes of
We catch up with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), the high-school bully who aggression and helplessness.
inspired a thousand tousled-blond copycats, in middle age. He might’ve been the Take the scene where an athlete at
big man on campus at 17, but at 50 he spends his days in an alcoholic haze, zoning a martial arts competition feels he has
out on Reagan-era macho movies, trying
to block out the fact that his nemesis,
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), now
owns a successful car dealership.
About as elegant and introspective
as the heavy metal he blares from the
subwoofers of his cherry Pontiac Fire-
bird, Johnny couldn’t be a further cry
from Mr. Miyagi. Yet when a nerdy
immigrant teen moves into the run-
down apartment next door, he starts to
think he may still have something to
offer and decides to resurrect Cobra
Kai dojo.
Living well may be the best revenge,
but the Karate Kid isn’t content to let
his opulent house, beautiful wife, and
thriving business speak for themselves.
When he gets wind of Johnny’s plans,
he, too, decides to return to the ring.
Then it’s on like Godzilla vs. King Kong.
Daniel-san isn’t the bad guy by a long
shot, but he’s a lot less lovable than has-
been Johnny, who makes us laugh out to give a virtue-signaling speech con-
loud with his throwback attitude. Unlike demning toxic masculinity before he
Daniel, who’s the very model of a mod- can compete. A viewer can’t miss the
ern major-domo, Johnny didn’t get the irony that the woke adults in these
memo that it’s no longer acceptable to young men’s lives demand a conformity
call women “babes” or hang massive
American flags on his wall. He’s today’s
IT WOULD BE HARD and submission far more pitiless than
anything a high-school clique could
underdog—a working-class junkyard TO FIND ANOTHER come up with.
mutt who gets kicked around by his ’80S UPDATE The most frustrating thing about
(supposed) intellectual and ethical bet-
ters, yet still has enough spirit to haul
THAT’S EVEN Cobra Kai is that for a series so well
tailored to watch with tweens and teens,
himself out of a tangle of greasy sheets HALF AS CLEVER. it includes a hefty amount of language
every morning and snarl in the face of and crude humor. Thankfully, VidAngel
safe spaces. When someone phones ask- has the show on its service too, so fam-
ing if he accepts gender-nonconforming ilies have the option to enjoy the fun
and thoughtful themes while filtering
out what’s truly toxic.
22 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 SONY PICTURES TELEVISION“ W E H AVE TO HOLD EVERYT H I NG TO T H E L EN S OF SC R IP TU R E AN D R EAL IZE TH AT G OD’ S IN C ON TROL , AN D W E’ R E NOT.” Benjamin Watson in 2016
Glimpses of
abortion’s divides DATA
by Leah Hickman MONSTERS
Former social media execs decry Big Data
When is a person a person? Who deter-
mines a child’s quality of life? What hap- by Bob Brown
pens in an abortion procedure?
Former NFL athlete and current father
of seven Benjamin Watson started asking FORMER SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY EXECUTIVES tell all in the new
these questions of prominent thinkers Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. The practices that have
last year. Filming for his documentary made Facebook, Google, and other platforms wealthy and powerful
Divided Hearts of America began in 2019. are “bringing out the worst in society,” former Google design ethi-
Even with race issues and social justice cist Tristan Harris alleges.
taking center stage in 2020, Watson says Social media services record “every single [online] action” and
abortion is the “core issue” at the center run them through complex algorithms, according to former Twitter
of all others. exec Jeff Seibert. The better these formulas predict people’s internet
His 80-minute documentary, stream- habits, the more advertisers pay.
ing on SalemNOW, addresses the history The harm exceeds annoying pop-up
and current state of the American abor- ads. These companies employ “manip-
tion debate. Watson interviewed more ulative” psychological techniques to
than 30 thinkers on both sides of the keep users generating more data. For- BIGGEST SOCIAL
issue to find a solution. mer Facebook VP Chamath Palihapi- MEDIA PLATFORMS
Watson delivers in production value. tiya explains that users then conflate
But the script attempts too much. The “likes” with value and truth. The 1 Facebook:
many voices and topics crowd the film. result: a “brittle popularity that leaves 2.45 billion monthly
The film’s tagline is “Discovering the you more vacant and empty.” Some active users (MAUs)
secret that will unite us”—a secret that, interviewees fault their former 2 Instagram:
when revealed in the film, is too vague employers for the past decade’s spike 1 billion
to do any good. in suicide among girls. 3
Reddit:
But the documentary has strengths: But viewers must also sit through 430 million
A former abortionist recounts the preg- evolution malarkey, six expletives, and 4 Snapchat:
nancy that changed her mind. An abor- an intermittent fictional story about a 360 million
tion survivor talks about the saline family wrestling with online routines.
5
Twitter:
solution she soaked in for five days in her The docudrama (rated PG-13) doesn’t
330 million
mother’s womb. A woman shares the consider that users share in the respon-
heartbreak of her own abortion: Her abor- sibility for their own choices. Three 6 Pinterest:
tionist grabbed the baby’s remains and modest (and obvious) suggestions for 322 million
announced, “Just so you know, it was a parents conveyed during the end cred- 7 LinkedIn:
girl.” In these moments, the documentary its don’t include Romans 12:2. 310 million
moves beyond punditry to glimpse the
wounded hearts abortion leaves behind.
WATSON: FACEBOOK; THE SOCIAL DILEMMA: NETFLIX 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 23C U LT U R E Movi e s & T V in-cheek. At other times it bursts with
excitement—and testosterone—as more
than a thousand raucous and rowdy
17-year-olds converge on Austin.
Amid the chaos, McBaine and Moss
PLAYING
CA M P CORRECT I VE According to the American Legion, Boys State was founded in 1935 to counter socialism-inspired Young Pioneer camps.
focus on four boys—Steven, Robert,
René, and Ben. Much of the time they
POLITICS
portray the boys as three-dimensional
people who make real moral choices.
Choices like whether to lie to get ahead
Boys State offers a look at the political in their political ambitions. As Robert
says, “My stance on abortion would not
instincts of young Americans line up well with the guys out there at
all. So I chose to pick a new stance.”
by Emily Whitten
Unlike in grown-up politics, here we see
behind the curtain to what’s really in
their hearts and minds.
Boys State contains bad language
and negative role models. But we also
see a clear difference between servant
leadership and self-serving politicians.
Progressive Steven talks with the boys
across the aisle and tries to represent
their views as well as his own. In con-
trast, the Ronald Reagan–loving con-
servative Ben smears his opponents with
whatever dirt he can find. To get ahead,
he misrepresents Steven’s stance on
guns. In Ben’s mind, lying is just part of
the game.
Since the film’s August release on
Apple TV+, many media outlets have
focused on the boys with progressive
views. In an opinion piece for The New
York Times, René describes encounter-
ing racism at the camp and suggests the
U.S. political system rewards such behav-
ior. “I believe that to love America is to
be as cynical about our political system
as necessary until real change is made,”
he writes.
E
VERY SUMMER, THE VETERANS ORGANIZATION American But the most hopeful reflection I’ve
Legion hosts nearly 20,000 teens in weeklong camps seen comes from Ben, the Reagan fan.
called Boys State. Hundreds of boys in each state run for The film brought him face to face with
mock political office (or did before COVID-19, at least), his shortcomings, as he explains in an
including the top spot of governor. Even if you’re not a interview with the Aspen Institute: “You
political junkie, the experience seems like a lot of fun, know, when Steven’s gun control issue
especially as presented in the new documentary Boys came out, my first instinct was, let’s
State, filmed in Texas in 2018. smear him on it. … Boys State was a
You could summarize the award-winning film this way: wonderful opportunity to reflect on it
Two liberal documentary-makers crash a conservative and say, just because that’s how it’s been,
boys camp. Yet despite clear Democratic bias, filmmakers that’s not how it should be.”
Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine use a cinéma vérité style Ben’s mature introspection and
that lets the boys speak for themselves, giving viewers repentance feels almost shocking in our
real insight. At times, Boys State feels relaxed or tongue- culture today. And it offers some hope
God isn’t done with these boys—or our
country—just yet.
24 WORLD 1 0.1 0.20 APPLE TV+G E T TI NG A ROUND NASA’s five space shuttles flew 135 missions from April 1981 to July 2011, traveling 542 million miles.
was the third shuttle built, and by 1986,
launches had become routine.
BOX OFFICE Or so it seemed. June Scobee Rodg-
ers, widow of flight commander Dick
TOP 10 Scobee, recalls her husband wondering
if he should tell civilians “this is a risky
WEEKEND OF SEPT. 18-20, ACCORDING TO
business, [when] they were being told
BOX OFFICE MOJO. QUANTITY OF SEXUAL it’s like a commercial aircraft.”
(S), VIOLENT (V), AND FOUL-LANGUAGE (L)
CONTENT ON A 0-10 SCALE, WITH 10 HIGH,
A subcontractor company, Morton
FROM KIDS-IN-MIND.COM Thiokol, built the booster rockets that
fired up and returned to Earth after each
S V L
launch. Thiokol engineers noticed that
1 Tenet* PG-13 . . . . . . . . . 1 6 5 the O-ring seals between sections of the
2 The New solid rocket boosters were damaged
Mutants PG-13 . . . . . . . . 2 6 5
after some launches, especially during
3 Infidel R . . . . . . . . . . . . not rated cold weather. Despite damage to redun-
4 Unhinged R . . . . . . . . . 1 8 7 dant systems—and seemingly in viola-
5 The Broken Hearts tion of safety protocols—NASA kept the
Gallery PG-13 . . . . . . . . . 4 3 5 schedule rolling.
6 The SpongeBob “They had 16 flights scheduled in
Movie: Sponge on
the Run PG . . . . . . . . . . not rated 1986, and nine the previous year,” states
PRESSURE
one reporter. “They had promised this
7 Bill & Ted Face
the Music* PG-13 . . . . . . 2 4 2 to Congress, and they were … deter-
TO LAUNCH
8 Alone R. . . . . . . . . . . . . not rated mined to pull it off.”
Challenger’s 10th mission was sched-
9 The Personal
History of David uled from Cape Canaveral during a Jan-
Copperfield* PG. . . . . . 1 4 2
Challenger: uary cold spell. Thiokol employees
10 Words on Bathroom raised concerns about the O-ring seals
Walls* PG-13 . . . . . . . . . not rated The Final Flight in an emergency meeting the day before
*REVIEWED BY WORLD
examines the origin the launch. But seemingly under pres-
of a NASA disaster sure from NASA managers, Thiokol gave
the go-ahead for launch. Interviewed 34
by Marty VanDriel years later, these engineers still feel ter-
rible guilt for signing off on the decision.
Crowds gathered to watch Chal-
THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM has been a lenger take off. As the craft cleared the
source of pride to Americans and an tower, spectators cheered and hugged.
inspiration to millions around the globe. Then, 73 seconds after liftoff, the shut-
But these missions into space have come tle exploded, killing all aboard.
TOP 10 FOCUS with a cost—both financially and in
human lives.
In subsequent investigations, NASA
officials were not forthcoming in
The four-part Netflix documentary acknowledging they knew about prob-
In Tenet, someone has hidden Challenger: The Final Flight tells the lems with the O-ring seals. But today,
a device that reverses an story of the space shuttle disaster of William Lucas, former director at
object’s trajectory through 1986. Producers use original footage of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center,
space and time. Nasty villain, flight crew training and interviews with concedes, “My engineers knew that the
chill hero, the fate of the world NASA officials, subcontractor employ- joint should be redesigned, and that was
in the balance: standard ees, and journalists to paint a picture of in the process.”
thriller stuff with largely blood- an agency rushing to complete missions Still, he stands by his decisions:
less violence, little sensuality, to justify its massive budget. “Going into space is something that great
and PG-13 language. —from NASA began planning the space countries do. … They want to advance
WORLD’s review of Tenet shuttle program in the 1970s to provide technology. They want to learn. It’s also
transport into orbit and launch satellites risky. … It’s regrettable, but costs some-
and exploratory missions. Challenger times are very difficult.”
TENET: WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT; CHALLENGER: THE FINAL FLIGHT: NETFLIX 1 0.1 0.20 WORLD 25You can also read
