Monday - And A Christian Call to Arms Against War

 Last night, I spent almost 4 hours running “The Dead and The Dying” through the spelling/grammar checker and doing some minor editing. What I do not understand is how some items turned up in pieces I thought thoroughly edited. No wonder my stuff is getting rejected — it looks like sh*t.

Now, I am up, feeling a bit grumpy.

I had rather high hopes for "Between the Dead and the Dying", but those are starting to flag.

Thank you for sharing this work with The Adroit Journal, and thank you for your patience as we consider and discuss submissions. We hope this note finds you well.

After a review of your submission, the staff has unfortunately decided that this submission is not right for us. Best of luck placing this work elsewhere, and thanks again!

Sincerely,

The Editors

The Adroit Journal

www.theadroitjournal.org

That I paired it more closely with “Reunion” in the collection (after it, actually, and also after the through-line story, if anyone notices) because I feel they are connected does help a little in thinking it has value.

I have put out all my short stories. I do not see working on any others for the rest of the year. I will not be trying to find other publications as the rejections come in.

That was this morning. Work went well enough, I left around 1:55. It shocks me that people were actually worried about my well-being, concerned about my not appearing last Friday. 

Here is why it can take an hour to get home. I got to the Powers Street bus stop in time to get the 2 pm #2 bus. I stopped off at Friendly Foods to get smokes and a 2 liter of Coke Zero, and got the same bus on the way back downtown. I had a 15-minute layover waiting for the Whitely bus to take me home. That bus got me here just before 3 pm.

I fed the cat; a voracious creature. Then I started my own dinner — heating up the lentils from Saturday, and adding more mushrooms. Then I started on my email and blogging.

There will be a post on pot and Indiana on Friday.

From the LitHub newsletter I went to Benjamin Moser on What We Can Learn from Failed Dutch Painters. I found comfort in this:

If it’s hard enough to guess what your contemporaries will appreciate – and believe me: most artists try – you certainly can’t worry too much about people centuries in the future. This is especially true for writers. Cyril Connolly wondered at that rare book that could last a full ten years, since by that point almost every book is forgotten. If it’s discouraging not to be able to predict what others like, now or in the future, that realization can also free you up not to care. After studying these failed painters, I decided that the only thing that mattered  was just to do the work you felt was most important – and to keep doing it.

I also read This Is Not the World We Are Taught Of by Very Rev. Barouyr Shernezian, and I debate whether to put this in a separate post. I found a very well-reasoned, emotionally rounded response by a churchman to the wars we are living through.

We are living in a time when wars and conflicts consistently occur. Whether we are in the midst of the war physically or mentally, in any case, we are damaged. Different states and the media can present the events occurring under different names and categories, yet the violence against human life is at the core of the conflicts. We speak up, we advocate, we protest, we post on social media platforms, and we speak from different media channels. Still, the world is in the same place. I cannot believe that in the 21st century, we witness genocides, ethnic cleansing, wars, and conflicts, where children and women are largely the primary victims.

***

It is time for the Church leaders to define the true path that people need to take. Under the name of secularization, the Church is excluded from interfering in political issues, but human lives are in danger. Church leaders should serve as torchbearers in difficult times, addressing the stigmas that cause human suffering. While their positions may vary due to their specific circumstances, when it concerns the collective wellbeing of humanity, there should be no alternatives. We cannot place our trust in politics, which at times values political advantages over human life. Furthermore, the Church, as a unity in Christ, cannot remain silent or take no stance when innocent humanity, made in the image and likeness of God, is suffering. And if Church leaders choose to remain neutral, then the people must become the voices for the unheard and suffering. People make up the Church; therefore, it is incumbent upon people to implore their Church leaders not to remain silent but to embody the healing grace for the wounds afflicting the body of Christ.

We have to realize and believe that if we come together to heal the stigmas of this world, then we will be the voice for the vulnerable and those who are negatively impacted by the conflicts and the attacks. We cannot allow world leaders to dictate our lives with their war rhetoric, through the support of our votes and tax payments. Christ’s embodying message of love and peace is the most needed medicine today in the midst of a messy world. If we allow any kind of injustice anywhere and remain silent about it, assuredly the mist will reach our doors, and it will be too late. If we truly carry the name of Christ, the Lord of Peace, then it is in our human vocation to be the ambassadors of peace and love. Moreover, the grace of love is the most powerful weapon that can heal any kind of human stigma that bleeds from evil, because the Kingdom of God is the unity of love and peace under the shadow of the Holy Cross. It is high time that we put into practice what we preach. It is imperative that we unite our efforts to spread the virtues of peace and love we have been raised with and have vowed to safeguard in our personal and collective lives.

My own view is that this is precisely why the Church must stand outside of politics. 

What do will I do for the remainder of the evening? It is cold and damp, I do not want to go anywhere. Except, I may need a trip to McClure's.

During work today, I thought of needing a rewrite for one of the stories in "The Dead and The Dying", as well as a few squibs I want added. I tried calling KH, no answer. I am tempted to work on that instead of my blogging. One way or another I foresee bing in front of the computer for the next few hours.

sch 5:37 PM