The World and Everything in It - July 9, 2021

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

The two big teachers’ unions double down on critical theory and on critics!

NICK EICHER, HOST:  We will talk about that and about the Supreme Court leaving a small-business owner to fend for herself.

That’s ahead on Culture Friday.

Also a new documentary that will make you think and might make you want to dance!

And WORLD’s Marvin Olasky with the July edition of Ask the Editor.

BROWN: It’s Friday, July 9th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BROWN: Up next, Kent Covington has today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Biden says U.S. war in Afghanistan will end August 31 » President Biden says the U.S. war in Afghanistan will officially end next month.

The president made the announcement at the White House on Thursday.

BIDEN: Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart. Our military commanders advised me that once I made the decision to end the war, we needed to move swiftly.

He said with regard to the drawdown “speed is safety.”

Biden said he made the decision to leave after concluding it’s an “unwinnable war” and one that “does not have a military solution.”

His remarks come as the Taliban continues to capture more and more territory in Afghanistan. But the president pushed back against critics of the military pullout, saying—“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build.”

BIDEN: How many thousands more of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk? How long would you have them stay?

Many Republican lawmakers warn the risk to U.S. troops and citizens will ultimately be greater after the pullout as terrorist groups once again find safe haven in Afghanistan.

COVID cases on the rise as delta variants spreads » COVID-19 cases are now officially moving in the wrong direction.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday that the 7-day average of new cases is just under 14,000 cases per day. That’s up 11% from the week before.

The ultra-contagious delta variant is driving the increase.

WALENSKY: Although we expected the delta variant to become the dominant strain in the United States, this rapid rise is troubling. We know that the delta variant has increased transmissibility and is surging in pockets of the country with low vaccination rates.

She noted that vaccines are still highly effective in protecting against the delta strain and other variants.

New research from France adds further evidence that the vaccines are still working against the coronavirus mutant.

Scientists ran tests with blood from several dozen people given the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. They reported that nearly all samples showed an immune boost strong enough to neutralize the delta variant.

Japan declares emergency, bars Olympic fans from stands in Tokyo » The delta variant is also causing problems in Japan, where vaccination rates are extremely low.

That led Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo.

YOSHIHIDE (translated): Considering the effect of variants, and in order to curb the spread of the virus, we need to strengthen our antivirus measures.

Suga said the state of emergency will last through at least Aug. 22nd.

With that declaration in place, fans will not be allowed to attend Summer Olympic events in Tokyo, which begin two weeks from today.

Japan barred fans from abroad months ago, but had hoped to allow a limited number of local fans in Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee voiced support for the decision.

Just two weeks ago, organizers and the IOC allowed venues to be filled to 50% of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10,000. The state of emergency has forced a late turnaround.

Death toll from Fla. condo collapse rises to 60 » In Surfside, Florida, the official death toll from a collapsed condo building rose to 60 on Thursday, with another 80 people unaccounted for.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters...

DESANTIS: The work’s going to go on, and obviously they’re going to identify every single person. And we obviously want to do all we can for the survivors and the family members.

Detectives are still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.

The painstaking search for survivors shifted to a recovery effort at midnight Wednesday after authorities said they had come to the agonizing conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble.

Unemployment claims tick up » The number of Americans filing jobless claims rose slightly last week even as the economy appears to be bouncing back from the pandemic. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Unemployment filings rose by about 2,000 last week from the week before. The Labor Department reported 373,000 new applications.

Even as jobless claims ticked up slightly last week, many employers say they still can’t find enough workers.

On Wednesday, the government said that U.S. employers posted 9.2 million jobs in May, the most since record-keeping began in 2000.

The total number of Americans receiving jobless aid, including so-called enhanced unemployment with extra $300 per week checks, amounted to 14.2 million people.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Two Haitian Americans arrested in connection with Moise assassination » Authorities in Haiti have arrested two men believed to be Haitian Americans in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise.

One of the men arrested, James Solages, is reportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti.

An official with the Hatian government said six people are now in custody in connection with the attack at Moise’s home in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday.

Police killed four other suspects in a gunfight and two are still missing.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: persecution in the public square.

Plus, WORLD Magazine’s window into reality.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday, July 9th, 2021.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

STUTZMAN: I think the worst part is when they say I won’t serve gay people. That’s just not true. I’ve never discriminated against anyone in my life.

Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in central Washington state. She is to floral arrangements for wedding ceremonies what Jack Phillips is to custom wedding cakes.

That is to say, she’s in a fight with governments and political activists who won’t respect her conscience.

She makes a crucial distinction here. She does employ LGBT workers, she does serve LGBT customers, but what she doesn’t do is lend her artistic talent to create custom arrangements for ceremonies she says go against her sincerely held religious beliefs. Namely that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

In the case of Barronelle Stutzman, her long legal fight started about eight years ago.

BROWN: And it may have ended last Friday—as we reported yesterday—when the Supreme Court refused to take her case, seeking to vindicate her rights under the constitution not to be forced to create floral art for same-sex wedding ceremonies.

EICHER: It’s Culture Friday. John Stonestreet is here. He’s president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast.

John, good morning!

JOHN STONESTREET, GUEST: Good morning.

EICHER: Here we go again. As we were speaking last week, as the Supreme Court was issuing its final decisions before adjourning for the term, the justices declined once again to take up the case of Barronelle Stutzman. Same song, second verse, John. The court didn’t get involved in a potentially clarifying transgender bathroom case and now the court declines to clarify the religious-freedom rights of small business owners. These are battles that have been going on even before 2015, when the Supreme Court imposed same-sex marriage on the country in its Obergefell v. Hodges case.

BROWN: So John, this isn’t a legal question. It’s more of a “how should we then live” question: What does Barronelle Stutzman need to be prepared to do and likewise what does every other small-business owner need to be prepared for now?

STONESTREET: Yeah, in my commentary on this earlier this week, I kind of asked questions to three different groups of people. The first was to gay activists: Is this really the sort of America you want? I also directed my comments, though, to small-business owners. Because if there's a sense that, you know, this won't come for you, I think that's just kind of foolish. The final question, though, and this is the one that I don't think nearly enough people are talking about: You know, when I directed my comments to small-business owners, it had to do with something I've been calling a theology of getting fired. When is the best thing that you can do to follow Jesus to make that choice between your career and your convictions? And we know that people throughout history have done this. We know people are making choices even right now between their life and their convictions. But there's also a theology of getting fired that the rest of us, who are in personal relationships, church families, with, some of these people who are being asked to make these hard decisions, I think that the rest of us actually need to recommend not just with What does every other small business owner need to be prepared for now? But what does every other Christian need to be prepared for now? Through the history of the church, Christians have come around people who have been asked to stand for their convictions. This may be the new normal for us. This may be the theology of getting fired that we need to figure out: What is required of us? How do we keep someone like Barronelle from going into financial ruin? How do we keep people like her from being just demoralized? How do we lift their arms up so that they continue to fight. Barronelle Stutzman and Jack Phillips have played a heroic role in the history of American religious freedom, and they have played a crucial role for us right now. They have carried way more weight than should ever have been asked of them. And they have done it with grace and courage. And the rest of us need to be prepared. I don't know what it's going to look like. I don't know what the financial arrangements are going to be. I don't know what her future is going to be. But the rest of us better be prepared to take care of her and others like her.

EICHER: One of our legal writers here at WORLD, Steve West, noted in one of his stories that the Stutzman case had come up for a second time. The first time, the Supreme Court sent it back and told Washington State to consider her case in light of its decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the Jack Phillips case.

And in a sense, Washington state did exactly as it was told, because, frankly, the court in Masterpiece didn’t do all that much. West wrote:

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling … focused on the open hostility of Colorado officials to the religious convictions [of Jack Phillips]. Members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission [when handling his case] described Phillips’ beliefs as despicable and discriminatory… .”

And I’ll pause from the story to point out that, essentially, it was the boorishness of Colorado that the court said was impermissible. So when the Washington Supreme Court reconsidered the Stutzman case in light of that, it found no boorishness on the part of the government, or as our story says, “The Washington Supreme Court ruled against Stutzman because it found no such anti-religious bias in her case.”

We always emphasize the limits of politics, but when things like this happen can you blame people who say politics means nothing?

STONESTREET: Well, I mean, maybe. Look, it shouldn't surprise anyone that when basically, the Washington Supreme Court was asked to check whether or not the state of Washington had shown any anti religious bias, that they took a total of three seconds to, you know, mitigate that that whole question and then just decided, 'Oh, no, we're great. We were right, she was wrong.' They made it clear from the very beginning. This is why the Supreme Court needed to take up this case. And I think there was actually indication of anti religious bias on the state of Washington. And now you have this whole, you know, trail of consequences, legal consequences, they made this. They have to pick this up at some point. So politics is going to matter. And, you know, we can also say this, given the ruling in the Philadelphia case, I think we've got a real issue right now about whether the court is going to extend the same religious protections to individuals, and the people in the public square, and particularly to people in the world of commerce, as they very clearly have two distinctly religious organizations. Drawing that line that religious freedom belongs to those who you know, magically get a tax-exempt status from the government gives the government the power to determine what religion and religious conviction is, that's not the sort of power they should have. And it isn't a way to extend religious freedom to all. So I know there's a lot of commentators right now, including some conservative ones, that are saying, you know, this has been the most friendly court to religious freedom ever. And I think there's probably you've seen this consistent ruling in favor of religious organizations. What you've also seen is an absolute unwillingness to deal with the religious freedom of individuals in the public square. And that's not historically what religious freedom has been understood to be.

BROWN: John, it’s summertime and so lots of conventions and professional-association meetings are going on.

I took note that the two big teachers’ unions had their conferences: the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.

Critical race theory, of course, was a hot topic, and these unions are all in on it.

And one big story that came out is that the unions say they’re ready to fight local parent activists or non-woke school boards. According to Education Week:

Both unions, the AFT and the NEA, are “vowing to defend their members against any backlash over how they teach” on the subject of race.

I've read numerous comments from teachers who say these unions are political machines and do not speak for them and they feel powerless. This is different from the business owner. What advice do you have for the classroom teacher or the parent who just wants a good education for their kids?

STONESTREET: Well, I think the first thing is to realize, fundamentally approaching education and education of a child is the responsibility of the parent, not the state. And so what the state decides needs to serve the interest of the parent. Now, I know that with the sorts of powers that be and by the way, isn't there a great irony here? Because we were just told for the last three weeks, that the whole fear over critical race theory being mandated and taught in schools was made up and it wasn't really an issue. And then you have the these two teachers' unions essentially going, 'Oh, no, no, it's a real big deal. And we're gonna enforce it on everybody.' But look, I think the, the thing to realize is exactly what we mean by education, and that has to first and foremost belong to the parent, I would also say, to explore the alternatives. There's an amazing amount of educational creativity happening right now in the United States. And it's primarily being driven by people of faith, whether you're talking about homeschooling, homeschooling hybrids, classical schools, Christian classical schools, charter schools, and the list goes on and on and on, and on and on. But fundamentally, I also want to say this. There is one part of the critique of those of us that have concerns about critical race theory and education that's a legitimate critique of our side. Which is, that there's too much of any time a question or a conversation or a statement about race comes up. There's too many people identifying every conversation as critical race theory. So just like it's wrong for the teachers unions to take legitimate concerns over critical race theory and say that they're nothing but right-wing, racist bias, it's also wrong to take any conversation about the racial issues in the United States history, and ongoing questions and concerns to be, you know, automatically an indicator of critical race theory. And I'll go back to something I've said now over and over and over, which is, look, my issue with critical race theory isn't the word race. My issue with critical race theory is critical theory, which in and of itself, is based on a flawed understanding of the human person, a wrong understanding of what's wrong with the human condition, and offers no way forward. It actually just leaves us in a kind of a postmodern sense of brokenness that we can never recover from. So it locates identity and categories that fundamentally aren't good, and cannot preserve human dignity in the long run. And what is critical race theory this year turns into critical queer theory or whatever else next year. And trust me, the success of the LGBTQ movement to hijack the civil-rights movement that will seem like nothing in terms of their success in hijacking this this latest chapter in the racial conversation.

EICHER: John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. John, thanks!

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

NICK EICHER, HOST: A Maryland woman just knocked down a record that has stood for 15 years.

The Corner Bar in Rockford, Mich. is known for its “Wall of Fame.” To earn a place on the wall, you have to eat at least a dozen chili dogs within 4 hours. Thousands have accomplished that feat.

But the record for most dogs downed at The Corner Bar was 43 ½ chili dogs in 2006.

But that changed on Wednesday. Molly Schuyler rolled into town and strolled through the front door.

The general manager of the restaurant spoke with local TV station WOOD: 

VANAMAN: She just came in and went about business like it was a routine thing.

And it was somewhat routine for her. She is a competitive eater. For the slender-built, it was no problem at all.

She downed a total of 50 dogs in just 22 minutes!

And she wasn’t finished. Her server reported that after demolishing the record, Molly Schuyler evidently had saved some room—where? I have no idea.

PAAVO: Then she packed up and out the door she went, and she said she was going to go to Dairy Queen because she was hungry for ice cream.

Not for me. Dessert first. Life’s so uncertain.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, July 9th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a groovy new documentary with a cultural beat that sounds very familiar these days. Here’s reviewer Sharon Dierberger.

Announcer Tony Lawrence: “Welcome to the heart of Harlem, Soulsville, USA. This is Tony Lawrence

SHARON DIERBERGER, REVIEWER: In 1969, the same summer the Woodstock concerts rocked a pasture 100 miles northwest of Manhattan, the Harlem Cultural Festival set crowds be-bopping in New York City. The Harlem event, also called the black Woodstock, isn’t as well known. But a new documentary aims to change that, using film footage buried in a basement for 50 years.

Tony Lawrence: “The Chambers Brothers!”

Summer of Soul, in theaters and streaming on Hulu, highlights leading black musicians of that era playing rhythm and blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and even a chunk of gospel music to mostly standing crowds. Children sit on parents’ shoulders, teens perch on tree branches, and bell-bottomed singles sway with the music.

MUSIC: ”Do it to it…sock it sock it to me…

The filmmakers punctuate footage of the concert with current and archival interviews that help set the scene for its cultural relevance. Some called the festival “a black consciousness revolution.” They say it gave African Americans a way to express musically what they were feeling politically. Others saw the event as a nonviolent way to celebrate their music and culture.

Puerto Rican musician Ray Baretto, born in Harlem, sings lyrics celebrating all the races in his lineage.

“I know a beautiful truth, that in my blood I got black and white, red and Puerto Rican, Indian. I’m all messed up, but I got soul.”

The film can help audiences think about what’s culturally relevant to different races. And it highlights the beauty of finding pleasure in shared joy. A performer from the Staples Singers talks about that after joining in song with gospel legend Mahalia Jackson:

“And I was honored. I’m tellin you, that is still my biggest honor, to sing on the same microphone as sister Mahalia Jackson. She remains the greatest. And when you talk about music, this black festival, is some of every kind, is some of every style--jazz, blues, gospel...all of it is good!”

The concert’s musical talent includes Stevie Wonder, then 19 years old, jamming on drums and keyboard. Other performers include B. B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, and the 5th Dimension in their creamsicle-orange colored vests. You’ll recognize tunes like “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “My Girl,” “Up, Up, and Away,” and this one:

5th Dimension singing: “When the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.”

The best songs shine during the festival’s gospel segments. Pops Staples and the Staples Singers performing “Help Me Jesus,” Mahalia Jackson belting out "Search My Heart,” and the Edwin Hawkins Singers in lime green dresses singing one that moves the crowds to praise:

Edwin Hawkins Singers singing: “Oh happy day, Oh happy day, when Jesus washed, when He washed, when Jesus washed, He washed all my sins away. Oh, that’s a happy day.…He taught me how…”

The film shows plenty of dark moments, too. The 1960s were turbulent times. Marked by protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War, increased drug use, and the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Those who think America’s racial tensions are worse now than a half-century ago might be surprised to hear performer Nina Simone reading a poem that includes these lines: “Are you ready to kill if necessary? Are you ready to smash white things? Are you ready to burn buildings?”

Another disturbing vintage clip shows a young black man spouting rhetoric that sounds familiar today.

“There is no need to go to Vietnam and shoot somebody a honky says is your enemy. We’re gonna shoot the cops who are shooting our black brothers in the back in this country.”

Such anti-authority attitudes permeated much of the country, not just black culture, during the 60’s and 70’s. Film director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s choice of interviewees suggests he wants viewers to do more than enjoy the music. He wants us to recognize cultural flashpoints that have seemingly changed little in 50 years.

The documentary is rated PG-13 for brief swearing, disturbing images, and some drug references. But older teens and adults should consider watching the film for an evening of throwback music and some timely conversation starters.

I’m Sharon Dierberger.

Musician David Ruffin: “Have to go back to the olden days" Singing: “I’ve got sunshine—on a cloudy day. Whenever it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May…” Spoken: “Can I get you to sing along with me one time?…Well” Singing: ”I guess you’d say, What can make me feel this way…my girl, my girl.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, July 9th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Ever wondered how WORLD Magazine editors choose what to put on its cover? Editor in chief Marvin Olasky has the answer on this month’s Ask the Editor.

MARVIN OLASKY, EDITOR IN CHIEF: Frequently-asked question: “How do you decide on covers for World magazine?” Frequent answer: Our designers give us a choice of photos. Editors select the most truthful and most dynamic. Sometimes, though, accuracy and action are in conflict.

Deciding on our two June covers was hard. The first issue had a cover story by Mindy Belz. I liked for the cover an action photo of Afghan soldiers marching in formation. They swung their arms, apparently with great confidence.

Mindy rightly pointed out that the image was not consistent with what her sources told her. The Afghan army may not come through once U.S. forces leave. As soon as I heard Mindy’s objection, I realized I was wrong in preferring dynamism to faithful description. I swung over to the photo that made the cover. It showed the back of an American soldier trudging toward a dimly-lit horizon. The headline: “Leaving Afghanistan.”

The cover led me to remember what President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address six decades ago: “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

That was then. This is now. For our cover, we chose sad reality over false excitement.

Turning to the June 26 issue: The cover story was about rage in Seattle and Portland. Feckless local officials there have given the far left free range. They have caged peace-loving citizens.

Several of our editors wanted to use on the cover a photo of two would-be revolutionaries framed by a burning building. Their upright arms ended in clenched fists. I could image the reaction among some readers. Outrage! Pump up the blood pressure!

But so far Seattle and Portland are outliers. The whole United States is not on the brink of violent revolution. I thought about other stories in the issue: Summer travel, books, the declining number of COVID-19 cases, the debate about requiring chickens to be cage-free.

We had a photo option: An interesting photo of a mannequin in formal clothes behind a storefront window broken by bullets or rocks. We came up with an encompassing headline: “America’s summer: Fractured, uncaged, road-ready.”’

We went with that, in keeping with who we are after our 40 years of work as God’s World Publications. This month and next we’re running in the magazine retrospective articles on important themes of those decades: Faithfulness to the Bible and the Biblical account of creation. Generosity toward the poor. Protection for our most endangered population group, unborn children.

God has called us to blow the trumpet on such questions, as chapter 33 of Ezekiel urges. On some other issues, when our readers are already awakened, we urge our readers to keep calm and carry on.

I’m Marvin Olasky.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Well, it is time once again to thank and recognize our outstanding team.

Thanks in alphabetical order to…

Anna Johansen Brown, Janie B. Cheaney, Kent Covington, Sharon Dierberger, Kristen Flavin, Katie Gaultney, Kim Henderson, Onize Ohikere, Bonnie Pritchett, Mary Reichard, Jenny Rough, Sarah Schweinsberg, Cal Thomas, Emily Whitten, and Whitney Williams.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz are our audio engineers who stay up late to get the program to you early! Leigh Jones is managing editor. Paul Butler is executive producer. And Marvin Olasky is editor in chief.

And you! Thank you for making possible Christian journalism in the vast marketplace of ideas.

Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Enjoy the freedom to worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and Lord willing, we’ll meet you back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

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