Month: September 2017

New Draft Report Covering a Decade of Refugees

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A draft report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that between 2005 and 2014, refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenue than they cost. As reported by The New York Times,

The draft report…contradicts a central argument made by advocates of deep cuts in refugee totals as President Trump faces an Oct. 1 deadline to decide on an allowable number. The issue has sparked intense debate within his administration as opponents of the program, led by Mr. Trump’s chief policy adviser, Stephen Miller, assert that continuing to welcome refugees is too costly and raises concerns about terrorism.

Advocates of the program inside and outside the administration say refugees are a major benefit to the United States, paying more in taxes than they consume in public benefits, and filling jobs in service industries that others will not. But research documenting their fiscal upside — prepared for a report mandated by Mr. Trump in a March presidential memorandum implementing his travel ban — never made its way to the White House. Some of those proponents believe the report was suppressed.

Well, when you build an entire campaign on anti-immigration/refugee rhetoric, what else can you do?

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Why Trump Won, A Reminder

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So we’ve got a lot of people acting as though the election of Donald J. Trump represents a seismic shift in the American electorate and–just maybe!–a prelude to the Fourth Reich. This is just a reminder that the data don’t bear that out.

It’s not exactly news–Slate Star Codex carried it right after the election–but it bears repeating. So here’s the update from Matt Bruenig: The Boring Story of the 2016 Election.

Donald Trump did not win because of a surge of white support. Indeed he got less white support than Romney got in 2012. Nor did Trump win because he got a surge from other race+gender groups. The exit polls show him doing slightly better with black men, black women, and latino women than Romney did, but basically he just hovered around Romney’s numbers with every race+gender group, doing slightly worse than Romney overall.

However, support for Hillary was way below Obama’s 2012 levels, with defectors turning to a third party. Clinton did worse with every single race+gender combo except white women, where she improved Obama’s outcome by a single point. Clinton did not lose all this support to Donald. She lost it into the abyss. Voters didn’t like her but they weren’t wooed by Trump.

Bruenig goes on to explain why this narrative is so underplayed. Which is: nobody likes it. I’ll let you read Bruenig’s analysis on this point (I basically agree with it), but here’s the point: any discussion of what’s happening in American politics should adhere to the basic facts. Trump did a little worse than Romney. Clinton did a lot worse than Obama. Ergo the defining factor was Clinton’s deep unpopularity.

Last thought: she’s been in the press a lot since the end of the election. It even sounds like she wants to try again. Will she try? Will she succeed (in getting on the ballot)? What will that look like?

Index of Culture & Opportunity 2017

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The Heritage Foundation recently released their 2017 Index of Culture and Opportunity, which “evaluates a range of factors needed to sustain freedom and opportunity in America. Through charts that track social and economic changes and expert commentary that explains the trends, the Index reports on important indicators in American society and analyzes what they mean for our future. The Index tracks social and economic factors related to culture, poverty and dependence, and general opportunity in America. It monitors trends for 31 indicators, based on regularly updated national data and organized into three categories:

  • Cultural indicators, including data on family, religious practice, and civil society;
  • Poverty and dependence indicators related to marriage and poverty, workforce participation, and welfare spending and participation; and
  • General opportunity indicators, such as measures of education, jobs and wealth, and economic freedom.”

This is the first I’ve heard of it. Check it out.

Give Cash, Not Clothes

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If you want to help after a disaster, that is. “As a researcher with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative,” writes Julia Brooks,

…I’ve seen the evidence on dozens of disasters, from Superstorm Sandy to the South Asian Tsunami. It all points to a clear conclusion: In-kind donations of items such as food, clothing, toiletries and diapers are often the last thing that is needed in disaster-affected areas.

Delivering things that people need on the ground simply doesn’t help disaster-struck communities as much as giving them – and relief organizations – money to buy what they need. What’s more, truckloads of blue jeans and cases of Lunchables can actually interfere with official relief efforts.

If you want to do the greatest good, send money.

How so?

While ostensibly free, donated goods raise the cost of the response cycle: from collecting, sorting, packaging and shipping bulky items across long distances to, upon arrival, reception, sorting, warehousing and distribution.

Delivering this aid is extremely tough in disaster areas since transportation infrastructure, such as airports, seaports, roads and bridges, are likely to be, if not damaged or incapacitated by the initial disaster, already clogged by the surge of incoming first responders, relief shipments and equipment.

At worst, disaster zones become dumping grounds for inappropriate goods that delay actual relief efforts and harm local economies.

After the 2004 South Asian tsunami, shipping containers full of ill-suited items such as used high-heeled shoes, ski gear and expired medications poured into the affected countries. This junk clogged ports and roads, polluting already ravaged areas and diverting personnel, trucks and storage facilities from actual relief efforts.

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, many untrained and uninvited American volunteers bringing unnecessary goods ended up needing assistance themselves.

In-kind donations often not only fail to help those in actual need but cause congestion, tie up resources and further hurt local economies when dumped on the market, as research from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies determined.

Research confirms that a significant portion of aid dispatched to disaster areas is “non-priority,” inappropriate or useless.

One study led by José Holguín-Veras, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute expert on humanitarian logistics, found that 50 percent to 70 percent of the goods that arrive during these emergencies should never have been sent and interfere with recovery efforts. After the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado and the Tōhoku, Japan earthquake, for example, excessive donations of clothing and blankets tied up relief personnel. The situation was similar after Hurricane Katrina.

Relief workers consider these well-meaning but inconvenient donations as a “second tier disaster” due to the disruption they cause.

What’s more is that “emerging evidence suggests that disbursing cash is often the best way to help people in disaster zones get the food and shelter they need. What’s more, the World Food Program and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees say that people affected by disasters tend to prefer cash over in-kind aid due to the dignity, control and flexibility it gives them.”

This drives home the point that good intentions are not enough: evidence of effectiveness is necessary.

The Power of Plainness

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This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey.

I straight-up stole the title of this blog post from the title of Elder Marvin J. Ashton’s talk in the Sunday afternoon session of the April 1977 General Conference. Of course plainness isn’t a new concept to Mormonism. The Book of Mormon talks a lot about “plain and precious” truths. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire talk with plainness as its theme, and I did like what Elder Ashton had to say. Here are a couple of excerpts that I highlighted as I read:

Plainness is best comprehended by the humble, the teachable, the intelligent, the wise, and the obedient. Often plain truths are perverted by the pretentious, the crude, the low, the critical, the contentious, the haughty, and the unrighteous. More so than in any other time in our history, there is an urgency in today’s society for men and women to step forward and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of plainness. God delights when His truths are taught clearly and understandably with no conspicuous ornamentation. Plainness in life, word, and conduct are eternal virtues. When the plainness of Christian teaching and living is lost, apostasy and suffering result. People walk in darkness when the light of plainness is taken from their lives.

Interesting that plainness is rejected by both “the low” and “the haughty”. Perhaps plainness is a kind of moderation or even a kind of modesty: free of unnecessary embellishment or ornamentation.1

The power of a plain, unadorned testimony is always impressive to me. I recall a twelve-year-old boy standing in front of a large congregation to share his testimony. As he stood trembling in fear and emotion, his voice failed him. He stood speechless; our hearts went out to him. The creeping seconds dragged on, making the silence of the moment intense. Prayerfully we hoped that he might gain composure and the ability to express his testimony. After great uneasiness and anxiety peculiar to a young person in such a circumstance, he raised his bowed head and softly said, “Brothers and sisters, my testimony is too small.” He cleared his voice and sat down. His message had been given. I thought then, as I think now, what a timely observation. Whose testimony isn’t too small? Whose testimony doesn’t need to be added upon? After this one-sentence sermon, I acknowledged before the congregation that my testimony was too small also and I was going to give it a chance to grow by more frequent sharing. I had been taught by a plain, simple statement.

Nothing to add. I just like this story.

Some of life’s greatest lessons are taught and learned as we go about our Father’s business in routine daily kindnesses.

How could I not quote that? You know how I feel about sifting the sacred from the mundane. And here’s one more, to exit on:

Certainly the Savior has spoken in plainness that we may learn. The words of the Savior are eloquent in their plainness.

Glamour and mystery do not lead to eternal life.

—

Check out the other posts from the General Conference Odyssey this week and join our Facebook group to follow along!

Land-Use Restrictions and the Economy

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A brand new NBER working paper confirms what past evidence has shown: land-use restrictions tend to have negative effects on the economy. The researchers conclude,

Image result for land-use restrictionsHistorically, U.S. economic growth has gone hand-in-hand with the regional reallocation of labor and capital. The pace of resource reallocation, however, has slowed considerably. This decline has roughly coincided with lower productivity and output growth, as well as growing home price premia in high income states, including California and New York.

This paper develops a theory of these observations based on land-use regulations. We analyzed how policies that restrict land-use have affected resource reallocation, aggregate output and productivity, and regional employment shares.

We constructed a multi-region model economy in which regions differ by their productivity, their amenities, their urban land stock, and land-use regulations. We develop a procedure that uses the model together with data on land acreage, regional employment shares, and regional labor productivities to identify time series of regional TFP, amenities, and to systematically construct a time series of land-use regulations, which has been missing from the literature. Our model-inferred TFP, amenities, and land-use regulations compare fairly closely with independent measures of state-level regulations and quality of life measures.

We find that reforming land-use regulations would generate substantial reallocation of labor and capital across U.S. regions, and would significantly increase investment, output, productivity, and welfare. The results indicate that too few people are located in the highly productive states of California and New York. In particular, we find that deregulating just California and New York back to their 1980 land-use regulation levels would raise aggregate productivity by as much as 7 percent and consumption by as much as 5 percent. The results suggest that relaxing land-use restrictions may contribute significantly to higher aggregate economic performance (pg. 40).

They explain “that even modest land-use deregulation leads to a substantial reallocation of population across the states, with California’s population growing substantially. We also find that economy-wide TFP, output, consumption, and investment would be significantly higher as a consequence of deregulation. We find that U.S. labor productivity would be 12.4 percent higher and consumption would be 11.9 percent higher if all U.S. states moved halfway from their current land-use regulation levels to the current Texas level. Much of these gains reflect general equilibrium effects from the policy change. In particular, roughly half of the output and welfare increases reflect the substantial reallocation of capital across states” (pg. 4).

Mobility and Growth at the Top and Bottom

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“While income trends in such groups are often referred to as growth rates of the ‘rich’ or the ‘poor’,” write the authors of a new paper,

an underappreciated point is that membership in these groups is far from stable over time. When there is mobility in the income distribution, over time some of the initially poor will rise out of the bottom 40%, while others will fall from the top 60% into the bottom 40%. The same is true at the top end, with some fortunate individuals ascending into the top 10% while others drop out of this group.

This has consequences for how to interpret trends in group average incomes. For example, the policy implications, and even the political acceptability, of a given change in average income in the top 1% of the income distribution depends crucially on whether this group of top earners consists of the same people over time, or instead whether some of the initially rich fall out of the top group and are replaced with those who were initially poorer. This distinction matters just as much at the lower end of the income distribution. For example, when evaluating interventions designed to benefit those starting out at the bottom 10% of the income distribution, it is of considerable policy importance to be able to track the same group of individuals over time, and particularly to be able to track the experiences of those who were able to increase their incomes sufficiently to rise out of the bottom 10%.

The authors, in turn,

use data from the World Income and Wealth database, which is derived from published summaries of income tax records to measure average incomes and top income shares in a sample of mostly advanced economies, as well as the World Bank’s PovcalNet database, which reports data on average incomes and summary measures of inequality based on household surveys for a large number of mostly developing countries. Some of the cross-country patterns we observe in estimates of income mobility seem quite plausible given our priors. For example, among the high-income countries, the Scandinavian countries and much of Europe show relatively high levels of income persistence, while the US, Singapore, and Taiwan rank among the countries with low levels of income persistence.

To illustrate the consequences of mobility for growth rates of group average incomes for each country in our dataset, we take the latest available ten-year period and compute the conventionally available anonymous growth rate of average incomes for the top 10% (for countries in the World Income and Wealth database) and bottom 40% (for PovcalNet countries) of the income distribution. We then compare these to estimates of the corresponding non-anonymous growth rates obtained using our approach.

…In the case of the bottom 40%, the non-anonymous growth rate is considerably higher than the corresponding anonymous growth rate (the World Bank’s measure of ‘shared prosperity’). The difference is economically significant, averaging about 3% per year. This gap reflects the fact that the non-anonymous growth rate captures the experience of those who started out in the bottom 40% but had faster-than-average growth and thus rose out of the bottom 40% by the end of the period over which the growth rate is calculated. Conversely, the anonymous growth rate is lower because it reflects the experience of those who started out above the 40th percentile but had slower-than-average growth and thus fell back into the bottom 40%. Putting these observations together, this means that by tracking shared prosperity anonymously, policymakers could inadvertently overlook the success of some initially poor individuals. Or more succinctly, those who start out poor on average grow faster than you might think based on commonly reported anonymous growth rates.

The exact opposite holds true when tracking growth at the top end of the income distribution…As a result, commonly available anonymous growth rates of top incomes exaggerate the fortunes of the rich, often by a considerable margin. Or more succinctly, those who start out rich grow more slowly than you might think based on anonymous growth rates.

Important stuff.

 

Adjusted U.S. Income Inequality

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A 2016 working paper explores the well-tread topic on income inequality, but with proper adjustments. These include:

  • Remove non-deductible losses before 1987
  • Include tax-exempt interest
  • Remove filers  younger than 20 years old and remaining dependent filers
  • Remove non-resident filers
  • Correct number and income of non-filers
  • Correct for income sources
  • Include C corporation retained earnings
  • Include C corporation taxes
  • Include employer payroll taxes
  • Include employer provided health insurance
  • Measure income group sizes using the number of adults
  • Include Social Security benefits
  • Include unemployment insurance benefits
  • Include other cash transfers
  • Include Medicare
  • Include other non-cash transfers

When all is said and done, the researchers conclude,

Using unadjusted tax-based measures, Piketty and Saez (2003 and updates) estimate that between 1960 and 2013 top one percent pre-tax income shares increased by 10.0 percentage points. Using a consistent market income measure results in an increase of only 2.8 percentage points. Using a broad income measure with government transfers results in an increase of only 0.8 percentage points. Compared to unadjusted top one percent income shares, broad income shares were about 4 percentage points larger in the 1960s due to the inclusion of corporate retained earnings and taxes. They were about 5 percentage points lower in recent decades due to controlling for lower marriage rates outside the top of the distribution and including employer provided health insurance and government transfers. These differences illustrate how unadjusted tax-based income measures can present a distorted picture of inequality, as income sources outside the individual tax system can strongly impact inequality trends (pg. 14).

What I’m Watching Catch-Up: Anime Edition

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This is part of What I’m Watching (sort of).

I’ve fallen behind on my additions to What I’m Watching. Way behind. So, instead of doing longer posts like I’ve done in the past, I’m going to list all the series I’ve watched over the last several months with a brief synopsis and a few quick thoughts. I’ll include the ones I’m still watching at the end without comment.

Completed:

Image result for melancholy of haruhi suzumiyaThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006, 2009): “Kyon is a cynical and incredulous student of North High School in Nishinomiya. He is dragged along by his classmate, the eponymous protagonist Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric girl who is seeking supernatural phenomena and figures such as aliens, time travelers, and espers. With Kyon’s reluctant help, Haruhi establishes a club called the “SOS Brigade” (SOS団 Esu-Ō-Esu Dan), short for “Spreading excitement all Over the world with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade”…to investigate mysterious events. Haruhi later recruits three additional members: the laconic bibliophile Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the extremely friendly transfer student Itsuki Koizumi. These members soon reveal themselves (to Kyon) to be the types of extraordinary characters that Haruhi is seeking. They have been sent by their organizations to observe Haruhi — who is unaware that she possesses destructive reality warping powers — and to prevent these powers from being unleashed. This leaves Kyon the task of maintaining the illusion of a normal life for Haruhi” (Wikipedia).

I absolutely adored season one. The concept is totally bizarre, the comedy is top-notch, and the characters are fantastic (even if Haruhi’s sexualization of Asahina is a bit uncomfortable). Unfortunately, season 2 is bogged down by its infamous 8-episode story arc, which could’ve been well-done in a two-or-three-parter instead of the repetitive eight. While there are a couple highlights, overall the second season is a major letdown after such a memorable first one. Watch the first, skip the second.


Image result for one punch manOne-Punch Man (2015): “On an unnamed Earth-like super-continent planet, strange monsters and supervillains have been mysteriously appearing and causing disasters. To combat them, the world’s superheroes have risen to fight them. Saitama is one such superhero, hailing from the metropolis of Z-City and easily defeating monsters and villains with a single punch. However, he has become bored with his power and only gets truly excited when fighting strong opponents that can challenge him. Over the course of the series, Saitama encounters various superheroes, supervillains, and monsters. He gains a disciple in the form of the cyborg Genos and eventually joins the Hero Association in order to gain official recognition” (Wikipedia).

The premise combined with Saitama’s often deadpan delivery (as well as his occasional freak-outs) adds up to some incredibly funny moments. The action is also pretty spectacular, even if the story line is fairly thin: battles which are episodic in nature with no major developments plot wise (think Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers with a new rampaging monster to defeat each episode). Throw in a mix of characters–from the epic to the absurd–and you get nothing but pure fun.

Image result for attack on titanAttack on Titan (2013, 2017): “Over 100 years ago, a natural predator of humanity appeared: the Titans, giant humanoid but mindless monsters whose sole purpose of existence seemed to be to devour humans. There was an insurmountable gap in power between them and mankind, and as a result, humanity was rapidly exterminated to the brink of extinction. The survivors responded by constructing three concentric walls: Wall Maria, Wall Rose and Wall Sina, which graced them with a century of peace. However, one day a Colossal Titan far larger than any other seen before breached the outer wall, allowing the smaller Titans to invade the human territory and forcing the survivors to retreat to the inner walls. Eren Jaeger, a boy whose mother was eaten during the invasion, vowed to wipe every last Titan off the face of the Earth, and joined the military determined to exact his revenge” (Attack on Titan WIKI).

When my brother-in-law first told me of this show, I thought it sounded a tad ridiculous…until I watched the gruesome first episode. Titan features some of the most epic battle scenes I’ve ever seen; scenes that are made all the more exhilarating thanks to its incredible soundtrack. Furthermore, the narrative is shrouded in mystery, with constant twists, turns, and mind-blowing reveals. Pacing at times is an issue and Eren is a somewhat annoying lead, but it’s difficult to find fault with a show that takes everything that was great about early The Walking Dead and turns it to 11. Can’t wait for Season 3 next year.

Image result for one week friendsOne Week Friends (2014): “Fujimiya Kaori has a strange condition; every Monday she loses all her memories of her friends. She hides herself away, never making any friends to forget, until her classmate Hase Yuki starts eating lunch with her on the roof. Together, the two work to address Fujumiya’s challenges as she learns to open up to people and expand her circle of companions” (Nihon Review).

Think 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler, but actually good. The message that friendship is both necessary *and* difficult (even without a disability) is a powerful one. The resolve Yuki shows at the beginning—pledging to be Kaori’s friend in the face of a challenging disability—is heartfelt and moving, making the ending all the more satisfying. Cute, if sentimental.


Image result for your lie in aprilYour Lie in April (2014-2015): “Piano prodigy Kousei Arima dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kousei hasn’t touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Kaori Miyazono is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kousei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kousei was used to” (Your Lie in April WIKI).

This one always has high marks among anime reviews, but I was personally a little disappointed. I loved witnessing Arima struggle with and defeat his personal demons, but Kaori’s lack of character development undermines the nature of their relationship. Plus, the sudden tonal shifts–jumping from deadly serious to comical instantaneously–don’t work as well as they do in, say, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and are therefore distracting. Finally, I would liked to see more about the technicalities of music similar to the way new techniques are explored in sports animes (e.g., Haikyuu!!). Nonetheless, the music performances are great, the animation is beautiful, and it still tugs enough at the heartstrings to be worthwhile.

Image result for the devil is a part timerThe Devil Is a Part-Timer! (2013): “In another dimension, the Demon Lord Satan and his forces of evil were defeated by the Hero Emilia Justina and her armies. Satan and his Demon General Alsiel were forced to flee through a portal which dropped them off in modern day Japan. With their magic slowly depleting in an unfamiliar world, they are forced to act as normal human beings in order to survive. The Hero Emilia Justina follows them through the portal and is also met with the same circumstances. Although she still harbours negative feelings towards Satan for his past acts of evil, they become unlikely allies in order to survive” (The Devil is a Part-Timer WIKI).

Another fun and quirky series along the lines of Haruhi Suzumiya (though not as brilliant). The protagonist’s ambition of worldwide domination via working up the corporate ladder of a fast-food chain is both hilarious and relatable. Plot development is only fair, but works well enough for the situational comedy. The second half didn’t feel as fresh as the first (which was pure gold), but nonetheless highly enjoyable.

Image result for fullmetal alchemist brotherhoodFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010): “Alchemy is the art of transforming matter. However, in order to create something, the alchemist has to present something of equal value; this is the golden rule of alchemy. After losing their mother to a disease, Edward and Alphonse Elric try to resurrect her, an illegal taboo in the world of alchemy. Through the unsuccessful process Edward loses his arm and his leg and has to transmute Alphonse’s soul (which lost its body,) to a suit of armor. Afterward the two set off on a journey to find the legendary philosopher’s stone and use its magic to reunite with their bodies. In the process Edward joins the army and a much bigger plot unfolds” (Nihon Review).

This series always occupies the top spots in anime lists and for good reason. The characters are fleshed out, the action is impeccable, and the story is complex and gripping. Then there is the almost philosophical way FMAB explores the ins and outs of morality, human nature, family, and friendship. What’s more is the finale is completely satisfying. It took me a few episodes to really get really engaged, but the 60+ episode journey was well worth the effort.

Image result for scum's wishScum’s Wish (2016-2017): “High school student Hanabi Yasuraoka has been in love with her older childhood friend who is now her homeroom teacher Narumi Kanai. But from the look in Narumi’s eyes when he sees the new music teacher Akane Minagawa, Hanabi realizes that he is in love with Akane and not her. Hanabi meets Mugi Awaya, another student who is in love with Akane, who was his tutor when he was in middle school. Hanabi and Mugi make a pact and begin a fake relationship to satisfy each other’s loneliness from their respective unrequited loves, both sexually and emotionally. They agree to not fall in love with each other and end the relationship if their love is returned from the people they are in love with” (Wikipedia).

An odd series that portrays teenage awkwardness, loneliness, longing, and sexual frustration rather well. The show was a bit uncomfortable to watch at times (anything regarding teenage sex would be), but I was captivated by how realistic the emotions onscreen seemed. Unfortunately, the story eventually devolves into absurdity, cheapening an otherwise interesting premise.

Related imageMy Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (2013, 2015): “The story follows two loners: the pragmatic Hachiman Hikigaya and beautiful Yukino Yukinoshita, who, despite their varying personalities and ideals, offer help and advice to others as part of their school’s Service Club, assisted by the cheerful and friendly Yui Yuigahama. It largely depicts various social situations faced by teens in a high school setting and the psychology driving their interactions” (Wikipedia).

A series about highly-intelligent high school loners isn’t all that exciting of a premise and it admittedly took me a little bit to get into show, but by the end of Season 2, I was more than happy that’d I given it a shot. Loneliness is something everyone has experienced. The search for belonging is a universal one and watching these characters–despite the exaggerations of their various traits–on that quest is a moving one.

Image result for haikyuuHaikyuu!! (2014-2016): “Hinata Shoyo dreams of playing volleyball, just like his idol the Little Giant. In Junior High, his thrown-together team is thoroughly crushed by another school led by setter, Kageyama Tobio, the “King of the Court”. Hinata swears revenge against the King, only to discover upon joining the Karasuno High School volleyball club that Kageyama is not his adversary, but his new teammate. Together with the other players, they have to battle hard to regain their schools reputation as one of the best in the prefecture” (Nihon Review).

This was my first sports anime and I unequivocally loved it. It embodies everything I love about anime: inner monologues that capture the essence of various emotions and mental states (e.g., insecurity, despair, concentration, joy), the apotheosis of the mundane (e.g., the grind of continual practice, new techniques), and the complete immersion in the story as a viewer. Furthermore, Haikyuu!! never paints the opposing teams as villainous, but as fellow players with the same hopes and dreams as the Karasuno team. I’m very much looking forward to Season 4.

Still Watching:

Image result for classroom of the eliteThe Classroom of the Elite (2017): “In the not too distant future, the Japanese government has established the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School, dedicated to instruct and foster the generation of people that will support the country in the future. The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. Our protagonist is Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, a quiet, unassuming boy who is not good at making friends and would rather keep his distance. He is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its inferior students in order to ridicule them. After meeting Suzune Horikita and Kikyō Kushida, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka’s situation begins to change” (Wikipedia).

Image result for my hero academiaMy Hero Academia (2016-2017): “A new phenomenon has appeared among mankind. 80 percent of the population possess superpowers known as “Quirks”, and this gave birth to the rise of heroes and villains. Being a hero has always been high school student Midoriya Izuku’s dream, and All Might, the greatest hero of all, is his all-time inspiration. Unfortunately, Midoriya learns that he possesses no Quirks and is fated never to become a hero at all. One day, he gets rescued by none other than All Might himself after being attacked by a villain. Little did he know that on that fateful day, he learned All Might’s deepest secret, one that would change his life forever and what it means to follow All Might’s footsteps” (Nihon Review).

Image result for psycho passPsycho-Pass (2012-2013): “In the near future, Japan has taken a strong stance for isolationism and has created its own self-sufficient bubble controlled by a series of supercomputers.  By implanting a chip into the brains of its citizens, this society has cracked the code to people’s inclinations, aptitudes and psychological well being.   As a result, crime has been almost eradicated, and employment is practically pre-determined based on the person’s metrics. The show follows the lives of a series of police officers who investigate the few crimes the system failed to predict, and bring in the perpetrators for rehabilitation.  However, should the algorithms decide that the criminals cannot be salvaged, they are exterminated on the spot” (Nihon Review).

Related imageSword Art Online (2012): “In the year 2022, a game called Sword Art Online is released. It is a virtual reality massive multiplayer online role-playing game that is played with a helmet called the Nerve Gear. One day the players discover that they are unable to log out. The creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba, informs them that they cannot escape until they beat the game, and if they die in the game, they will die in real life. The swordsman Kirito’s quest to escape this life and death game now begins” (Nihon Review).

Image result for monster animeMonster (2004-2005): “Doctor Tenma Kenzou is one of the best brain surgeons in the world. But one day he decides to perform surgery on a 10 year old over the City’s Mayor. After saving the boy, the Director of the Hospital and the Doctors that worked in the Mayor show up dead in the hospital, and the boy who Dr. Tenma saved is missing, along with his twin sister. 9 years later a patient of Dr. Tenma is murdered and the cops place him as the main suspect, but Dr. Tenma knows who did it; the boy he saved 9 years ago, he revived a Monster then and he must kill the Monster now, before more murders occur” (Nihon Review).

Image result for kuroko basketballKuroko’s Basketball (2012-2015): “The Teikō Middle School basketball team had been labelled unrivaled after winning for three consecutive years every championship game they were in. This impressive track record was attributed to the star players, whose exceptional skill and raw talent earned them the moniker ”Generation of Miracles”. Following graduation, each member of the Miracles went on their separate way to join different high school basketball teams. Kuroko Tetsuya, once part of this undefeated team as a sixth member who earned the acknowledgement and respect of the others, decides to enlist in Seirin High School’s basketball club. There he meets Kagami Taiga, a basketball player with promising ability, and they both make a pledge to defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the top players in Japan” (Nihon Review).

 

The Agency of God

by

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey.

Mormonism has been called an atheological religion, notably by philosopher James E. Faulconer in Why a Mormon Won’t Drink Coffee but Might Have a Coke: The Atheological Character of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Faulconer begins:

It is a matter of curiosity to many and an annoyance to some that it is sometimes difficult to get definitive answers from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to what seem like straightforward questions – questions of the form “Why do you believe or do x?” Latter-day Saints subscribe to a few basic doctrines, most of which they share with other Christians (such as that Jesus is divine) and some of which differentiate them, such as the teaching that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. They also accept general moral teachings, the kinds of things believed by both the religious and the non-religious. Apart from those, seldom can one say without preface or explanation what Latter-day Saints believe.

The explanation for this, according to Faulconer is that Mormonism is atheological, meaning “they are without an official or even semi-official philosophy that explains and gives rational support to their beliefs and teachings.”

Faulconer is right, and for the most part I see this as a feature rather than a bug. A lot of the strife in other Christian denominations has come precisely from the high stakes involved in authoritatively laying out doctrinal claims. This is why there are all those creeds out there, many of which not only played a role in religious wars and persecution, but frequently have no practical relevance today. In other words: a lot of people died for basically no good reason. By refusing to have any kind of an authoritative theology, Mormonism avoids that (metaphorical or literal) bloodbath and instead keeps the focus on the basics (for one) and on actions (for another).

One consequence—for good or ill—is that a lot of the tough questions that other denominations have scads of theological work on are basically wide-open fields. Such as: what is the nature of all that smiting and cursing that God foretells for the wicked through prophets? Does got really get angry—in a sense that we would understand—lose his temper and let natural disasters and wars and famines and plagues loose on the targets of his wrath? Or are those depictions in some sense metaphorical or hinting at some other, underlying reality that was either misunderstood by prophets at the time or intentionally misconstrued as a means to provoking better behavior?

For a Mormon: you’re kind of on your own.

Like most religious folks, we also tend to want to have it both ways. In the last General Conference (October 2017), Elder Rasband gave one of those “there are no coincidences” talks where every little (good) thing that happens is a sign of God’s micromanaging of our day-to-day lives. In the April 1977 General Conference, Elder Romney took up the flipside of this coin, arguing that God doesn’t intentionally smite anyone:

[L]et it not be supposed, now, that the Lord takes pleasure in these calamities. He does not. He graphically foretells the inevitable consequences of men’s sins for the purpose of inducing them to repent and thereby avoid the calamities.

So, if it’s a good thing that happens, we credit it to God’s personal intervention in our lives, no matter how small. But if it’s a bad thing that happens, we absolve God of any responsibility (i.e. we claim the “calamities” are “inevitable consequences” rather than divinely-willed punishment or retribution), not matter how big.

This is a tough conundrum, and I don’t have an answer. I believe God is all-loving, and I find this very hard to reconcile with a God who micromanages a world so full of suffering and injustice. It’s easier for me to imagine a God who is—perhaps because of the strictures of free will—more often than not constrained from direct intervention. On the other hand, it’s clear that what I’m doing is creating a theodicy to conform to my intuition of justice. It’s entirely possible that there are other solutions to the problem that reconcile God’s love and mortality’s seemingly senseless misery and beauty.

If you’re from an older, orthodox religion (like Catholics or Calvinists), then you’ve got literally dozens of tomes you can fall back on. There’s some comfort in that. On the other hand, you’re also bound down to one particular authoritative interpretation or the other. And that feels like a bad idea. Not only because I’m skeptical that anybody has really gotten it right, but also because in the end I think it detracts from what really matters.

I think it’s a lot less important—although clearly not irrelevant—how we interpret the problem of evil and other theological quagmires and much more important—positively vital—how we respond to those dilemmas with our actions. I’ll take an orthoprax religion without the answers over an orthodox religion with flawed answers any day of the week.

I  might even take an orthopraxy religion without the answers over a hypothetical orthodox religion with the right answers, to be honest.

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