{"id":7985,"date":"2026-06-12T15:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7985"},"modified":"2026-06-12T15:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:49:11","slug":"tgfi-volume-559-a-wwi-parallel-and-age-gap-discourse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/06\/12\/tgfi-volume-559-a-wwi-parallel-and-age-gap-discourse","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 559: a WWI parallel and age-gap discourse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a>\n<\/p>

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s grad\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion week at Stan\u00adford and I\u2019ve been busier than nor\u00admal \u2014 few\u00ader links this week as a result. Are you grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00ading? Want to keep receiv\u00ading these emails?<\/strong> They\u2019re mir\u00adrored on Sub\u00adstack \u2014 sub\u00adscribe at https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. The War in Ukraine Has Now Gone On Longer Than World War I<\/a> (<\/strong>Con\u00adstant M\u00c3\u00a9heut, New York Times): \u201cThe war in Ukraine has often been com\u00adpared to World War I for its bru\u00adtal infantry assaults and heavy casu\u00adal\u00adties. Yet the idea that it could, by any mea\u00adsure, sur\u00adpass a con\u00adflict so long and bloody that French sol\u00addiers hoped it would be \u2018the last of the last\u2019 once seemed unthink\u00adable. That is just what hap\u00adpened on Thurs\u00adday. The war in Ukraine \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which reached 1,569 days, or more than four years and three months \u00e2\u20ac\u201d has now out\u00adlast\u00aded World War I.\u2026 Rough\u00adly nine mil\u00adlion to 11 mil\u00adlion sol\u00addiers died in World War I, com\u00adpared with about half a mil\u00adlion in Ukraine so far.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. More Than Evo\u00adlu\u00adtion Requires<\/a> (David Brooks, Com\u00adment): \u201cAs [Beha] began to appre\u00adci\u00adate the flaws in the athe\u00adist world\u00adviews, he suf\u00adfered a cri\u00adsis of faith in athe\u00adism. But there is a big dif\u00adfer\u00adence between los\u00ading faith in athe\u00adism and dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading faith in God. He seems to have expe\u00adri\u00adenced the pause between those two states that many have expe\u00adri\u00adenced. Kierkegaard famous\u00adly likened it to being sus\u00adpend\u00aded above water and doing the motions of swim\u00adming with\u00adout actu\u00adal\u00adly being in the water and swim\u00adming. In some ways the hero of this book is Lud\u00adwig Wittgen\u00adstein. Wittgen\u00adstein was no Chris\u00adt\u00adian, but he under\u00adstood that \u2018if all pos\u00adsi\u00adble sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic ques\u00adtions be answered, the prob\u00adlems of life have still not been touched at all.\u2019 \u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Will I Get Can\u00adceled for Dat\u00ading a Fresh\u00adman?<\/a> (Abi\u00adgail Shri\u00ader, The Free Press): \u201cIs it worth the risk of pub\u00adlic expo\u00adsure to talk to this girl you like? Tom, few things in life are _more_ worth the risk. Few oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties will ever be as valu\u00adable as the chance to con\u00adnect with a girl you might come to love. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a junior and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fresh\u00adman which, in the per\u00adverse cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtion of delib\u00ader\u00adate over\u00adre\u00adac\u00adtion, means some of your cen\u00adso\u00adri\u00adous peers may deem you \u2018preda\u00adto\u00adry.\u2019 Anony\u00admous cam\u00adpus spaces reward social\u00adly pro\u00adgres\u00adsive moral per\u00adfor\u00admance. Ordi\u00adnary inter\u00adper\u00adson\u00adal sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtions morph into show tri\u00adals, ruled by the jeal\u00adous who delight in sham\u00ading men out of nor\u00admal feel\u00adings and behav\u00adior. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let them fool you.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Deep Blue Fam\u00adi\u00adlies: A Sur\u00adpris\u00ading Mix of Trad and Egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan Val\u00adues<\/a> (Joshua Sohn, Insti\u00adtute for Fam\u00adi\u00adly Stud\u00adies): \u201c\u2026my fam\u00adi\u00adly lives in the Dis\u00adtrict of Colum\u00adbia, where Kamala Har\u00adris beat Don\u00adald Trump 90% to 6% in the last elec\u00adtion. Essen\u00adtial\u00adly all the fam\u00adi\u00adlies in my kid\u00ads\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ele\u00admen\u00adtary school are Democ\u00adrats, and most are lib\u00ader\u00adal Democ\u00adrats. These fam\u00adi\u00adlies also have some remark\u00adable fea\u00adtures: mar\u00adriage is vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly uni\u00adver\u00adsal, while divorce is vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly nonex\u00adis\u00adtent. Almost every kid is grow\u00ading up in a two-par\u00adent mar\u00adried fam\u00adi\u00adly. And if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to high\u00adlight the gen\u00ader\u00adal retreat from mar\u00adriage and par\u00adent\u00adhood in Blue Amer\u00adi\u00adca, we should also look at the cir\u00adcum\u00adstances where Blue Amer\u00adi\u00adcans buck the trend. As it turns out, there are three fea\u00adtures that might account for these strong Blue fam\u00adi\u00adlies in my own family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s social cir\u00adcle: (1) These fam\u00adi\u00adlies have a sur\u00adpris\u00ading mix of egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trad\u201d \u2014 lifestyle mark\u00aders. (2) They have reject\u00aded the mon\u00adey-first Midas mind\u00adset in favor of a fam\u00adi\u00adly-first one. (3) They have found ways to cre\u00adate a sense of com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. A Med\u00adical Stu\u00addent Took His Own Life. His Par\u00adents Blame the School.<\/a> (Fran\u00adnie Block, The Free Press): \u201cI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve report\u00aded on more than a dozen instances of insti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal over\u00adreach dur\u00ading dis\u00adci\u00adpli\u00adnary pro\u00adceed\u00adings at universities\u00e2\u20ac\u201dranging from seri\u00adous alle\u00adga\u00adtions of mis\u00adcon\u00adduct or cheat\u00ading to inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtions over whether or not a stu\u00addent under the age of 21 drank a beer. In all of these sto\u00adries, the stu\u00addents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fam\u00adi\u00adlies told me two things. First, that the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adties failed to grant them due process. Sec\u00adond, that they failed to take the stu\u00addents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 men\u00adtal health into con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion. In each case, the par\u00adents con\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly felt that the schools failed their chil\u00addren and were more con\u00adcerned with image con\u00adtrol than nur\u00adtur\u00ading their stu\u00addents. The stu\u00addents felt like the schools always had the upper hand, and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give them the oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to prop\u00ader\u00adly defend them\u00adselves when their entire futures were on the line. The stu\u00addents, res\u00adi\u00addents, and staff at Texas Tech Health who I inter\u00adviewed told me their insti\u00adtu\u00adtion is no excep\u00adtion.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u00e2\u20ac\u0153who under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I agree\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I dis\u00adagree\u00e2\u20ac\u009d until I can say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I under\u00adstand\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up here<\/a>. You can also view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u201cTGFI, Vol\u00adume 559: a WWI par\u00adal\u00adlel and age-gap dis\u00adcourse\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[131,124,222,184,310],"class_list":["post-7985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-dating","tag-russia","tag-ukraine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-24N","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7985"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7988,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985\/revisions\/7988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}