What Christians Believe - C. S. Lewis
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Lessons of 'Bridge-gate'
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, January 9, 2014
People talk about “the character issue” in politics, but is there really any other issue when it comes to judging a political candidate? After all, someone may be advocating Peace On Earth and Good Will Toward Men in public, while in private he could very well be hatching demonic schemes of revenge in retaliation for—let’s just say—not endorsing him for reelection. He might even stoop to closing two lanes onto the busiest bridge in the country, resulting in a cataclysmic traffic jam and causing a 91-year-old woman who needed an ambulance to wait for crucial extra minutes before paramedics could reach her. She died soon afterward.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s involvement in what will no doubt be known as “Bridge-gate” is the media mob’s target of the moment, with partisan Democrats pouncing all over it as evidence that the would-be 2016 presidential candidate’s aspirations for higher office are toast. And they may very well be right: but if they are, that isn’t necessarily good news for Democrats. That’s because what Christie and his advisors apparently did—use their authority to punish their enemies without regard for the wider consequences—underscores the utter lawlessness of overweening government power, undercutting the Democrats’ governing philosophy.
In Chris Christie’s world, there are no constraints: stop traffic to get back at a political rival? Spy on Americans? Violate the Constitution? Violate the trust of the people who elected you? You just go right ahead! Rules are for the Little People! When you’re a high-ranking member of the political class—when the “donor class” comes begging to you to run for the highest office in the land—the rules don’t apply.
Christie exemplifies everything that’s wrong with America, not only politically but psychologically: the man’s a bully. The problem, however, is that America loves a bully. Videos of Christie going ballistic and telling off various of his constituents for daring to question his ultimate wisdom are part of what made him famous—and attractive to the “donor class” as a putative presidential candidate. And while he’s kept his (horrible) foreign policy views relatively close to his vest, so far, if he’ll cause a major traffic jam in his own state to spite a political rival what would he do to spite a rival nation—and what kind of consequences would it augur for the rest of us? I shudder to think about it.
Christie’s apologists are already telling us this will all blow over, that it has nothing to do with issues relevant to the rest of the nation, and that the Governor really didn’t know what his closest top aides were doing. While they’re probably right about Bridge-gate blowing over, the argument that he didn’t know what was going on probably isn’t good for his reputation as a competent administrator. However, the real point is that his behavior is indeed all too relevant to national issues currently confronting us because it epitomizes everything Americans hate and fear about the governing class. This is why 72 percent of Americans, asked what is the biggest threat to the United States, answered their own government.
Imagine President Christie’s NSA chief rationalizing spying on people who just happened to oppose Christie’s political agenda: why get bogged down in an “esoteric intellectual debate” about the ethics of such an act? And President Christie, who famously doesn’t involve himself in the Machiavellian plots of his amoral staff, could conceivably imagine himself blameless.
What Christie’s advisors did wasn’t just morally reprehensible: it’s a criminal act to engage in political retaliation against the entire population of a town under color of authority. Prosecutors are currently investigating the matter and I wouldn’t be surprised if charges are filed.
The big irony—and also a big problem for American democracy—is that a candidate probably couldn’t succeed in becoming President unless he or she was imbued with the kind of ruthlessness embodied by the Christie gang. The sheer number of bodies one has to walk over in order to reach the throne ensures that whomever makes it is morally unfit to be entrusted with the fate of 300 million Americans. Our system doesn’t just encourage these characteristics in a political leader, it requires them—as long as they aren’t caught.
People talk about “the character issue” in politics, but is there really any other issue when it comes to judging a political candidate? After all, someone may be advocating Peace On Earth and Good Will Toward Men in public, while in private he could very well be hatching demonic schemes of revenge in retaliation for—let’s just say—not endorsing him for reelection. He might even stoop to closing two lanes onto the busiest bridge in the country, resulting in a cataclysmic traffic jam and causing a 91-year-old woman who needed an ambulance to wait for crucial extra minutes before paramedics could reach her. She died soon afterward.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s involvement in what will no doubt be known as “Bridge-gate” is the media mob’s target of the moment, with partisan Democrats pouncing all over it as evidence that the would-be 2016 presidential candidate’s aspirations for higher office are toast. And they may very well be right: but if they are, that isn’t necessarily good news for Democrats. That’s because what Christie and his advisors apparently did—use their authority to punish their enemies without regard for the wider consequences—underscores the utter lawlessness of overweening government power, undercutting the Democrats’ governing philosophy.
In Chris Christie’s world, there are no constraints: stop traffic to get back at a political rival? Spy on Americans? Violate the Constitution? Violate the trust of the people who elected you? You just go right ahead! Rules are for the Little People! When you’re a high-ranking member of the political class—when the “donor class” comes begging to you to run for the highest office in the land—the rules don’t apply.
Christie exemplifies everything that’s wrong with America, not only politically but psychologically: the man’s a bully. The problem, however, is that America loves a bully. Videos of Christie going ballistic and telling off various of his constituents for daring to question his ultimate wisdom are part of what made him famous—and attractive to the “donor class” as a putative presidential candidate. And while he’s kept his (horrible) foreign policy views relatively close to his vest, so far, if he’ll cause a major traffic jam in his own state to spite a political rival what would he do to spite a rival nation—and what kind of consequences would it augur for the rest of us? I shudder to think about it.
Christie’s apologists are already telling us this will all blow over, that it has nothing to do with issues relevant to the rest of the nation, and that the Governor really didn’t know what his closest top aides were doing. While they’re probably right about Bridge-gate blowing over, the argument that he didn’t know what was going on probably isn’t good for his reputation as a competent administrator. However, the real point is that his behavior is indeed all too relevant to national issues currently confronting us because it epitomizes everything Americans hate and fear about the governing class. This is why 72 percent of Americans, asked what is the biggest threat to the United States, answered their own government.
Imagine President Christie’s NSA chief rationalizing spying on people who just happened to oppose Christie’s political agenda: why get bogged down in an “esoteric intellectual debate” about the ethics of such an act? And President Christie, who famously doesn’t involve himself in the Machiavellian plots of his amoral staff, could conceivably imagine himself blameless.
What Christie’s advisors did wasn’t just morally reprehensible: it’s a criminal act to engage in political retaliation against the entire population of a town under color of authority. Prosecutors are currently investigating the matter and I wouldn’t be surprised if charges are filed.
The big irony—and also a big problem for American democracy—is that a candidate probably couldn’t succeed in becoming President unless he or she was imbued with the kind of ruthlessness embodied by the Christie gang. The sheer number of bodies one has to walk over in order to reach the throne ensures that whomever makes it is morally unfit to be entrusted with the fate of 300 million Americans. Our system doesn’t just encourage these characteristics in a political leader, it requires them—as long as they aren’t caught.
Half of Congress Members Are Millionaires, Report Says
By Eric Lipton, NY Times, Jan. 9, 2014
WASHINGTON—It is hardly the kind of news that lawmakers in Congress would want to highlight during a week when unemployment benefits expired for more than a million Americans. But Congress has achieved something of a milestone.
For the first time in history, more than half the members of the House and Senate are now millionaires, according to a new analysis of financial disclosure reports filed last year.
The median net worth for lawmakers in the House and Senate was $1,008,767—up 4.4 percent, according to the analysis, conducted by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, which examines the influence of money on politics in Washington.
Over all, at least 268 of the 534 current members of Congress had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, which is the year covered by the reports that each lawmaker had to file in 2013.
The wealthiest member of Congress, as has previously been the case, was Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, who had a net worth of between $330 million and $598 million, a significant chunk of which he earned through the Viper car antitheft system that is marketed and sold by a company he owned.
The poorest was Representative David Valadao, Republican of California, who listed debts of about $12.1 million, mostly from loans on a family dairy farm.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress were about equally wealthy, with Democrats boasting a median net worth of $1.04 million, compared to $1 million for congressional Republicans. The averages in both cases were up compared with the previous year, when the numbers were $990,000 and $907,000, the analysis showed.
Many of the members of Congress who were first elected in 2012 were unusually wealthy, helping drive up the overall standard of living among representatives and senators.
The rise in wealth takes place at the same time that both parties are trying to position themselves as more sympathetic to the jump in inequity in the United States; the rich have gotten much richer while the median family income has been relatively flat or has declined, depending on different statistical measurements.
The growing divergence may help explain why Congress, beyond the politics involved, would allow unemployment benefits to expire, critics said.
"Congress not only seems more responsive to policy desires of the very rich, but increasingly they are the very rich," said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington-based research group that focuses on income inequity and poverty. "They probably know far fewer people cut off by the failure to extend unemployment benefits, and that makes them less sensitive to just how much damage that cutoff is going to cause."
WASHINGTON—It is hardly the kind of news that lawmakers in Congress would want to highlight during a week when unemployment benefits expired for more than a million Americans. But Congress has achieved something of a milestone.
For the first time in history, more than half the members of the House and Senate are now millionaires, according to a new analysis of financial disclosure reports filed last year.
The median net worth for lawmakers in the House and Senate was $1,008,767—up 4.4 percent, according to the analysis, conducted by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, which examines the influence of money on politics in Washington.
Over all, at least 268 of the 534 current members of Congress had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, which is the year covered by the reports that each lawmaker had to file in 2013.
The wealthiest member of Congress, as has previously been the case, was Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, who had a net worth of between $330 million and $598 million, a significant chunk of which he earned through the Viper car antitheft system that is marketed and sold by a company he owned.
The poorest was Representative David Valadao, Republican of California, who listed debts of about $12.1 million, mostly from loans on a family dairy farm.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress were about equally wealthy, with Democrats boasting a median net worth of $1.04 million, compared to $1 million for congressional Republicans. The averages in both cases were up compared with the previous year, when the numbers were $990,000 and $907,000, the analysis showed.
Many of the members of Congress who were first elected in 2012 were unusually wealthy, helping drive up the overall standard of living among representatives and senators.
The rise in wealth takes place at the same time that both parties are trying to position themselves as more sympathetic to the jump in inequity in the United States; the rich have gotten much richer while the median family income has been relatively flat or has declined, depending on different statistical measurements.
The growing divergence may help explain why Congress, beyond the politics involved, would allow unemployment benefits to expire, critics said.
"Congress not only seems more responsive to policy desires of the very rich, but increasingly they are the very rich," said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington-based research group that focuses on income inequity and poverty. "They probably know far fewer people cut off by the failure to extend unemployment benefits, and that makes them less sensitive to just how much damage that cutoff is going to cause."
Prayer Brings Miracle Healing for Woman With Malignant Tumor
Gina Meeks, Charisma News, Jan. 9, 2014
An Israeli woman who had a malignant tumor that almost took her leg had nothing left to do but pray. Miraculously, her prayers worked and she was healed.
Therese Daoud was scheduled to have surgery to amputate her leg, but after it was canceled three times for bureaucratic reasons, the Christian woman believed it was a sign.
Three months later, doctors found that her tumor had completely disappeared. Daoud, a high school science teacher, told her story to Israel Channel 2 Friday.
"I felt pain in my leg, in my ankle, with swelling," she recalled.
Her doctor, professor Jacob Bickels, says the tumor was “about the size of an orange.” He was shocked when he discovered it had disappeared.
"If someone had told me this story, I would have said that both the patient and doctor were psycho. It’s impossible," he told Channel 2.
Daoud consulted with oncology experts in Israel and the U.S., and the unanimous opinion was that she should have her leg amputated. When the surgery was canceled three different times, Daoud took it as a sign that she should not undergo the procedure.
"It was clear to me she was going to die within a short time," said Bickels, head of the oncology department at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital. "She is an educated, intelligent and sane woman, and when a person makes such a decision and is cognizant of its significance, we respect it."
Daoud returned to her home in Ussfiya, an Arab village outside Haifa, where she prayed for her health. Three months later, she went back to the hospital for a consultation with her doctor.
"I asked her what happened," Bickels recalled. "She grinned widely and said, ‘I prayed.’ I sent her for an MRI, and the tumor had shrunk dramatically. I had not seen anything like this or heard of such a thing. I do not know of a cancer of this type that retreats."
Daoud underwent another biopsy, which revealed the tumor was gone.
"Every time I prayed, I felt peace and security," she said. "I was afraid, but also at peace."
She added, “It’s a gift from God.”
An Israeli woman who had a malignant tumor that almost took her leg had nothing left to do but pray. Miraculously, her prayers worked and she was healed.
Therese Daoud was scheduled to have surgery to amputate her leg, but after it was canceled three times for bureaucratic reasons, the Christian woman believed it was a sign.
Three months later, doctors found that her tumor had completely disappeared. Daoud, a high school science teacher, told her story to Israel Channel 2 Friday.
"I felt pain in my leg, in my ankle, with swelling," she recalled.
Her doctor, professor Jacob Bickels, says the tumor was “about the size of an orange.” He was shocked when he discovered it had disappeared.
"If someone had told me this story, I would have said that both the patient and doctor were psycho. It’s impossible," he told Channel 2.
Daoud consulted with oncology experts in Israel and the U.S., and the unanimous opinion was that she should have her leg amputated. When the surgery was canceled three different times, Daoud took it as a sign that she should not undergo the procedure.
"It was clear to me she was going to die within a short time," said Bickels, head of the oncology department at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital. "She is an educated, intelligent and sane woman, and when a person makes such a decision and is cognizant of its significance, we respect it."
Daoud returned to her home in Ussfiya, an Arab village outside Haifa, where she prayed for her health. Three months later, she went back to the hospital for a consultation with her doctor.
"I asked her what happened," Bickels recalled. "She grinned widely and said, ‘I prayed.’ I sent her for an MRI, and the tumor had shrunk dramatically. I had not seen anything like this or heard of such a thing. I do not know of a cancer of this type that retreats."
Daoud underwent another biopsy, which revealed the tumor was gone.
"Every time I prayed, I felt peace and security," she said. "I was afraid, but also at peace."
She added, “It’s a gift from God.”
How to Have a Year That Counts
By Umair Haque, HBR, January 9, 2014
Happy New Year! Here’s your challenge. You—yes, you—right here, right now, have a chance, nothing more, a slim reed of a chance, at a year that counts.
So I’d be willing to bet you’ve been cutting back on the sugar and vowing to get to Inbox Zero. 2014 is the year you will finally floss! And make junior vice president assistant director!
But wait. Before you get carried away by your Evernote file of Paleo recipes and your elaborate new system of Outlook sub-folders—you have a bigger opportunity here. Being the person you were put here to become.
I believe, first, in a humble, simple truth: that each and every one of us is here to live a life that matters. And we must do so by making each and every moment of each and every day of each and every year that we are privileged to live count.
And while dental hygiene is important, I’d like to postulate four resolutions that will help you create something that matters even more: a year that counts.
Don’t give up on your dreams. If you want your year to count, don’t start with your goals. Don’t start with your plans. Don’t start with your objectives. Start with your dreams. The bigger, the more laughable, the more impossible—the better. We feel as if our lives count when—and only when—we brush against our dreams, with the fingertips of our days. When we feel them; when we know them; when we become them. Our dreams do more than “inspire” us. Our dreams infuse us. They sing to us of who we may become. They elevate us. For our days to count, we must feel—sometimes painfully, sometimes joyously, never easily—that our better selves are roaring, exploding, thundering to life. And our dreams are the songs that awaken them.
Never, ever give up on your dreams. Not when it’s difficult; and especially not when it’s sensible. Nothing is more senseless than the sensible choice to live a meaningless life.
Don’t be afraid to suffer. There are two reasons for human action, and economists, with their superficial talk of “incentives,” don’t understand either. Fear and love. What are you afraid of? Rejection, poverty, disgrace? Whatever you call it, here is what it is: suffering. But you must never be afraid to suffer. It’s not that suffering makes you “stronger”—for life isn’t merely an exercise in empty stoicism. Nor merely must you suffer for the “sake” of what you want. No: it’s that suffering is so intimately connected with love—with what makes life worth living. Your fears are not imaginary. Yes, you will get dumped, axed, insulted. You will fail, stumble, falter. You will hurt, ache, yearn, long, want, despair. But that is precisely the fire in which all the elements of greatness—empathy, grace, tolerance, forgiveness, perseverance—are forged.
It is no accident that the word passion arose from the Latin word for suffering. When we treat suffering as merely pain to be escaped, we sacrifice passion in the process. In a world where so many want to feel passionate about their lives and their work, very few seem willing to suffer. But you can’t have one without the other.
Suffering is the fire that melts the glass of the person you must leave behind. Suffering signals the price of growth; and we can never learn the worth of growth if we are afraid to suffer.
Seek the mystery inside the truth, not the truth inside the mystery. We’re taught to be obedient rationalists—super-nerd-brains running computer programs that optimize the lives other people tell us we should want—instead of, you know, human spirits capable of creating the lives we could live. What gets measured, goes the old adage, gets managed. So analyze, test, explain, iterate! But the universe is not just greater than what we can explain—it is infinitely richer. Can you put love in a spreadsheet? Can you iterate towards friendship? Can you explain happiness?
Uncovering truths alone can help us make sensible choices—but sensible choices don’t propel to lives that matter. That leap is only taken in the instant you venture beyond certainty, beyond reason, beyond logic. And you must make that leap beyond truth every day, if you wish your days to count.
Let you happen. We, we are told, must “make it happen”; if we wish our lives to be precisely so. But that is the social philosophy of a child. If, instead, we are here to live lives that matter, resonant with purpose, luminous with celebration, here is what is truer: we must let ourselves be, in every instant, who we were meant to become. We must be more than lever-pressers. We must escape our cages. We must let “it” happen. What is “it”? All that which imbues our actions with meaning; without which life is little more than an empty, meaningless performance—good and bad. Love. Yearning. Loss. Grief. Heartbreak. Tragedy. Despair. Triumph. Will. All that and more—we must let happen, if we are to grow. What stands in their way, most often? The world? No. It’s us, ourselves—it is the worst in us, that will not budge, that will not yield, that limits us. That leaves us feeling thwarted; stifled; cheated—because, in truth, we are.
So let you happen—all of you. Free yourself. Want a year that counts? Maybe you have to end a bad relationship so that you can have your heart shattered into a million tiny aching pieces…so it can beat with a fiercer rhythm. Maybe you have to tell your NeanderBoss “no” instead of smiling and nodding like a spineless flunky. Maybe you have to apologize to someone, and look your shortcomings straight in the eye. Or maybe you have to start that company, marry that person, and put down roots—even when the ground beneath you feels like shifting sand. Or maybe you have to strike out and get lost in the unknown to find the opportunity on the other side. Whatever it is, let it happen.
Our days count—and only count—when we may love more than we could before. Which instants count? They’re not the ones that fill up our wallets. They’re not the ones where we have a pretty girl (or boy) on our arms. They’re not the ones where we buy, have, possess, barter, win, conquer.
So stop. Stop scurrying. Stop chasing. Stop worrying, envying, hoarding, scheming.
You’re free. And you have a choice–and a chance. At making it all count. Not just this year. But every instant. Every moment. It. Your life. You.
Here’s a great secret: you don’t only live once. You live an uncountable multitude of times; a lifetime in every day. And that’s more than enough for anyone.
And so. The question isn’t if you’re going to die. It’s whether you’re going to live.
Happy New Year! Here’s your challenge. You—yes, you—right here, right now, have a chance, nothing more, a slim reed of a chance, at a year that counts.
So I’d be willing to bet you’ve been cutting back on the sugar and vowing to get to Inbox Zero. 2014 is the year you will finally floss! And make junior vice president assistant director!
But wait. Before you get carried away by your Evernote file of Paleo recipes and your elaborate new system of Outlook sub-folders—you have a bigger opportunity here. Being the person you were put here to become.
I believe, first, in a humble, simple truth: that each and every one of us is here to live a life that matters. And we must do so by making each and every moment of each and every day of each and every year that we are privileged to live count.
And while dental hygiene is important, I’d like to postulate four resolutions that will help you create something that matters even more: a year that counts.
Don’t give up on your dreams. If you want your year to count, don’t start with your goals. Don’t start with your plans. Don’t start with your objectives. Start with your dreams. The bigger, the more laughable, the more impossible—the better. We feel as if our lives count when—and only when—we brush against our dreams, with the fingertips of our days. When we feel them; when we know them; when we become them. Our dreams do more than “inspire” us. Our dreams infuse us. They sing to us of who we may become. They elevate us. For our days to count, we must feel—sometimes painfully, sometimes joyously, never easily—that our better selves are roaring, exploding, thundering to life. And our dreams are the songs that awaken them.
Never, ever give up on your dreams. Not when it’s difficult; and especially not when it’s sensible. Nothing is more senseless than the sensible choice to live a meaningless life.
Don’t be afraid to suffer. There are two reasons for human action, and economists, with their superficial talk of “incentives,” don’t understand either. Fear and love. What are you afraid of? Rejection, poverty, disgrace? Whatever you call it, here is what it is: suffering. But you must never be afraid to suffer. It’s not that suffering makes you “stronger”—for life isn’t merely an exercise in empty stoicism. Nor merely must you suffer for the “sake” of what you want. No: it’s that suffering is so intimately connected with love—with what makes life worth living. Your fears are not imaginary. Yes, you will get dumped, axed, insulted. You will fail, stumble, falter. You will hurt, ache, yearn, long, want, despair. But that is precisely the fire in which all the elements of greatness—empathy, grace, tolerance, forgiveness, perseverance—are forged.
It is no accident that the word passion arose from the Latin word for suffering. When we treat suffering as merely pain to be escaped, we sacrifice passion in the process. In a world where so many want to feel passionate about their lives and their work, very few seem willing to suffer. But you can’t have one without the other.
Suffering is the fire that melts the glass of the person you must leave behind. Suffering signals the price of growth; and we can never learn the worth of growth if we are afraid to suffer.
Seek the mystery inside the truth, not the truth inside the mystery. We’re taught to be obedient rationalists—super-nerd-brains running computer programs that optimize the lives other people tell us we should want—instead of, you know, human spirits capable of creating the lives we could live. What gets measured, goes the old adage, gets managed. So analyze, test, explain, iterate! But the universe is not just greater than what we can explain—it is infinitely richer. Can you put love in a spreadsheet? Can you iterate towards friendship? Can you explain happiness?
Uncovering truths alone can help us make sensible choices—but sensible choices don’t propel to lives that matter. That leap is only taken in the instant you venture beyond certainty, beyond reason, beyond logic. And you must make that leap beyond truth every day, if you wish your days to count.
Let you happen. We, we are told, must “make it happen”; if we wish our lives to be precisely so. But that is the social philosophy of a child. If, instead, we are here to live lives that matter, resonant with purpose, luminous with celebration, here is what is truer: we must let ourselves be, in every instant, who we were meant to become. We must be more than lever-pressers. We must escape our cages. We must let “it” happen. What is “it”? All that which imbues our actions with meaning; without which life is little more than an empty, meaningless performance—good and bad. Love. Yearning. Loss. Grief. Heartbreak. Tragedy. Despair. Triumph. Will. All that and more—we must let happen, if we are to grow. What stands in their way, most often? The world? No. It’s us, ourselves—it is the worst in us, that will not budge, that will not yield, that limits us. That leaves us feeling thwarted; stifled; cheated—because, in truth, we are.
So let you happen—all of you. Free yourself. Want a year that counts? Maybe you have to end a bad relationship so that you can have your heart shattered into a million tiny aching pieces…so it can beat with a fiercer rhythm. Maybe you have to tell your NeanderBoss “no” instead of smiling and nodding like a spineless flunky. Maybe you have to apologize to someone, and look your shortcomings straight in the eye. Or maybe you have to start that company, marry that person, and put down roots—even when the ground beneath you feels like shifting sand. Or maybe you have to strike out and get lost in the unknown to find the opportunity on the other side. Whatever it is, let it happen.
Our days count—and only count—when we may love more than we could before. Which instants count? They’re not the ones that fill up our wallets. They’re not the ones where we have a pretty girl (or boy) on our arms. They’re not the ones where we buy, have, possess, barter, win, conquer.
So stop. Stop scurrying. Stop chasing. Stop worrying, envying, hoarding, scheming.
You’re free. And you have a choice–and a chance. At making it all count. Not just this year. But every instant. Every moment. It. Your life. You.
Here’s a great secret: you don’t only live once. You live an uncountable multitude of times; a lifetime in every day. And that’s more than enough for anyone.
And so. The question isn’t if you’re going to die. It’s whether you’re going to live.
