London

Well, pigeons, I left London the morning of August 9 after having listened to police sirens in the not-very-far distance all morning. I have posted some links to articles I think are worth reading on my Facebook and Twitter feeds. Please do check in.

I think this is prescient and that America should pay close attention. This is class war, and as MLK said, riots are the expression of the unheard. This isn’t just a matter of sinful human nature and bad, or absentee, parenting. I believe it is an explosive expression of the class warfare that has for too long been handily won by the rich and powerful. I just read that looters attacked diners at one of the best restaurants in the city, stealing the diamonds off of one woman’s hand. In another neighborhood, kids threw champagne bottles through windows of shops. Symbolic. Diamonds, champagne. Blackberries, iPods, flat screen TVs, designer togs. Lacking self-respect and/or respect from society, consumer goods are the great leveler, are even salvific in the psyche of rich and poor.

And so we interrupt our regular programming to soberly reflect on the Church’s role and response. Preachers, in the name of Jesus, say what needs to be said. May God grant us wisdom and courage.

O, London.