Rwanda's future

When advisor Malik Fal went to Rwanda, he says he found a determination to develop their own economy and improve the lives of their people (see posts December 10-13).  Much of the drive to achieve that goal comes from their president, Paul Kagame.

His essay in the book, In the River They Swim, explains his vision.

"Rwanda is a nation with high goals and a sense of purpose.  Our vision is to create prosperity for the average Rwandan citizen.  We are attempting to increase our gross domestic product (GDP) by seven times over a generation, which increases per capita incomes by almost four times.  This in turn will create the basis for further innovation, creative thinking, and a host of progressive human values:  interpersonal trust, tolerance, and civic-mindedness.  All this together will strengthen our society . . 

"In all people, you find different kinds of talents, and entrepreneurship is about harnessing those talents and making sure that it takes people to another level in their personal development . . . 

"[I]t gives people a feeling that they are valued and have meaning, that they are as capable, as competent, as gifted and as talented as anyone else. "

I wish them great success!

Impact $tudents

Chinese college students in the U.S. have become an important segment of the car business.  In the 22 months ending October 2013, this group bought over $15 billion worth of cars.

About half of them were new "with an average purchase price of $52,796; and 32 percent of buyers paid cash."

How does this compare to U.S. students?  "About 40 percent of their U.S. counterparts purchased new vehicles, with an average price of $19,472."

Dealerships around some universities now say Chinese students amount to as much as 15% of their sales, and some have hired employees who speak Mandarin and Cantonese. There are about three times the Chinese students in this country now as there were in 2003.

From: Bloomberg Businessweek.com

Massive data

Last week, December 19, I posted about the search for the Higgs Boson particle.  It was conducted at CERN ( European Council for Nuclear Research), founded in 1952 to do "world-class fundamental physics research."

It involved immense data gathering:

They used the large hadron collider to create 600,000,000 collisions among 3,000,000,000,000,000 protons every second.  Huawei supplied the data storage system to analyze 50,000,000,000,000 bytes of data.

"Merry" Christmas

We say "happy" holidays, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc., but Merry Christmas is the greeting we use rather than Happy Christmas.  

At First Things, it is suggested that there might be a reason to be Merry rather than just Happy at Christmas.  It has to do with joyous delight in undeserved blessing:

"To certain ears, then, “Happy Christmas” conveys a sober, well-earned enjoyment, the satisfaction resulting from hard work and virtuous living. “Merry Christmas” stirs in us an impulse more primitive and unrestrained: The childlike giddiness of Christmas morning, the rush down the stairs and tearing at paper, the intemperate delight in gifts long hoped-for and wholly undeserved.

"Which phrase conveys a more fitting response to the overwhelming, unearned gift of Christ’s birth? Suffice it to say that when our Lord comes I hope I do not greet him with dignified reserve but instead rush at him with the unguarded, unembarrassed joy of a child at play or man at his cups. Merry Christmas to all!"

Agreed!  Hope your Christmas was merry!

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

1. Hark! The herald angels sing,
   “Glory to the newborn King;
   Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
   God and sinners reconciled!”
   Joyful, all ye nations rise,
   Join the triumph of the skies;
   With th’angelic host proclaim,
   “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

1. Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
   Christ the everlasting Lord;
   Late in time, behold Him come,
   Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
   Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
   Hail th’incarnate Deity,
   Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
   Jesus our Emmanuel.
2. Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
   Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
   Light and life to all He brings,
   Ris’n with healing in His wings.
   Mild He lays His glory by,
   Born that man no more may die;
   Born to raise the sons of earth,
   Born to give them second birth.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,

While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv'n;

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav'n.

No ear may his His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

"Carol of the Drum"

The "little drummer boy" honored the newly born King with the finest thing he had, his own gifting and passion - the very thing the rest of us bring to God when we choose to line up our lives with Him.

Recommends Scrooge

Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer and Amazing Grace,  says his favorite "A Christmas Carol" movie version is the 1970 "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. His early memories and adult insights on the movie are here.

Higgs boson

You may know that a particle called the "Higgs boson" was finally identified this year.  An atomic collider was used to "find" the mysterious cosmic particle which was only theorized to exist back in 1964.

If you want to understand its significance in general terms, there's a pretty good explanation here along with a connection to Christian theology.

“As one goes deeper and deeper into the workings of the physical world, to more fundamental levels of the laws of nature, one encounters not ever less structure and symmetry but ever more. The deeper one goes the more orderly nature looks, the more subtle and intricate its designs.” (from Modern Physics and Ancient Faith)

Mentally strong

In the experience of this licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, some people are more successful at managing their thoughts in order to act positively despite circumstances.

The people who can rise above their circumstances avoid:

• feeling sorry for themselves
• resenting others' success
• wasting energy on things they can't control

 . . and a number of other self-defeating things.

The social worker is Amy Morin, and you can read all the 13 things mentally strong people avoid here.  There's also a link to a followup article on exercises which help to develop mental strength.

The article has been unexpectedly popular with over 10,000,000 readers. Amy plans to write a book.

Youth unemployment

This article was written almost two years ago about the high unemployment rate among those under 25 in Spain.  At that time it had gone above 50% and some were thinking that to leave the country would be their only hope for a promising career.

Now, almost two years later, Spain's unemployment rate is 57.4% for those under 25 .

According to an economics professor in Madrid, "This is the generation that will be paying for the welfare state and pensions in the future. If they can't get started with relatively secure, well-paying jobs, start to put away some savings, start to accumulate assets, start paying into the welfare system, where does that leave the rest of us?"

Rwanda growing

(cont'd from In The River They Swim)

Advisor Malik Fal found that Rwandan national leaders were very determined to improve conditions for the nation's people.    Like other African countries, they have received all forms of aid - but their goal is to grow out of the need for it by creating their own wealth.

(This should sound familiar if you read about economist Dambisa Moyo in my posts a month ago, Nov. 11-14.  She's been advocating this kind of change and sees Rwanda as a good example.  "Following President Kagame’s lead, Rwanda is already obsessed with turning the “no-aid” development theory into a reality.")

One of their strategies was to focus limited resources on industries that had high potential for competitive advantage.  Coffee growers worked hard to produce a better quality product with its better revenues.  Tourism focused on primate safaris and upscale accomodations, triggering infrastructure and service upgrades.

All of this with less foreign aid.  As the World Bank reported (see "Rwanda Changing" post two days ago),  "The domestic economy remained strong despite an estimated 20 percent reduction in Official Donor Assistance (ODA) in 2012."

Rwanda advisor

Malik Fal, educated in Africa and the U.S., has worked in global industry (Pepsi-Co) and most recently as Managing Director, Omidyar Network Africa.  

He's seen big changes since growing up in Senegal, which was formerly a French colony and is now independent.  From his point of view, "Political independence without economic independence is meaningless. This is the struggle of our lifetime."   

His mission has been to help Africans create wealth through what he calls "competitiveness" which he describes as:  "the ability to produce and sell good-quality, high-margin products and services to demanding clients both at home and abroad".  Business strategy in emerging markets is his specialty.

So he became an economic advisor to the Rwandan leadership.  Of that experience he says, "I love Rwanda because modern Rwanda is a story of resilience, integrity, and hope." (page 83)

As a co-author of In the River They Swim, he writes, "Wealth creation is the only sustainable way out of poverty, and nations whose leaders do not believe this are nations in danger of remaining poor." (page 93)

Rwanda changing

Next April will be the twenty-year anniversary of something horrific, the mass murder/genocide of 800,000 people in Rwanda.  It's hard to even imagine such a thing, but a web search will turn up the details.  Under colonial rule in the mid-1900's, everyone had to identify with a group.  Extremist Hutus in 1994 located and exterminated the Tutsi and anyone sympathetic to them.

Order was eventually restored, and Rwanda has been putting the past behind them as fast as they can.  Like many sub-Saharan countries, there's a high percentage of extreme poverty.  But a World Bank report says that things have been getting better:

"Rwanda's economy is estimated to have grown by a robust 8 percent in 2012, continuing a decade-long period of strong economic growth. The economic expansion was driven by buoyant private sector activity, particularly in the services sector, where growth exceeded expectations. This strong economic performance has allowed Rwanda to claim for the third year in a row, the title of the fastest growing economy in the East African Community. The domestic economy remained strong despite an estimated 20 percent reduction in Official Donor Assistance (ODA) in 2012."

Rwanda is on track to economic independence.  Next two days:  how that happened.

EV Tesla

Elon Musk's strategy for his electric vehicle Tesla is now moving into phase two.  First phase was to make and sell a small number of high priced vehicles, which he did, the Roadster (2500).  

The new Model S is the second phase, a less pricey car in bigger numbers.  It does seem to set itself apart from other EV's in performance and in range (how far it can go before re-charging).

The next phase - if things go well - will be for the masss market.  Fastcompany.com has an intriguing analysis of the Tesla and the business strategy behind it  here.

Driverless car

Sebastian Thrun, founder of Udacity (see last Friday's post "Online learning"), has another grand concern - cars, like many of his fellow Germans.  Head of AI (artificial intelligence) at Stanford University, he led the development of the Google driverless car.

He explains here that most deaths among young people are due to car accidents, and most of them are from driver error - not mechanical error.  This means that most accidents and accompanying injury/death are preventable if the car can do the driving.

When will they be widely available?  Last week on radio I heard him say that the cars, while mostly error-free, yet will make an error that could lead to an accident every 50,000 miles or so.  They're trying to fix that.

Online students

So, KIPP schools (yesterday's post) take students who have not been very successful and help them become good students using intense engagement - with teachers, with administrators, with parents, with concepts.

"Udacity" is sort of the opposite.  When Sebastian Thrun started his online education company, where there's little interaction between teacher and student, tens of thousands signed up but only a fraction saw the courses through.  It is thought (by an angry-sounding teacher) that this demonstrates:  1) the need for teacher/student engagement to make learning happen, and 2) that only students who are extremely self-motivated and self-controlled can make online education work for themselves (the opposite of the KIPP student).

There's nothing wrong with providing types of education that help all sorts of different students.  That's what a free market does:  it supplies a product if someone wants it.  KIPP serves people, Udacity serves people.

Thrun explains what he wanted to accomplish with Udacity and how it is changing to meet the primarily STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) needs of business here.

Successful schools

Work Hard. Be Nice. was written by Jay Matthews to tell the story of  "How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America."

Schools in neighborhoods of poverty have a poor track record.  The "two inspired teachers" joined Teach for America to go to these tough schools and make a difference, but they failed.

Huge passion for their task led to huge effort, and  finally they found methods that produced successful students.  Those methods include working closely with parents as well as investing extraordinary time and enthusiasm.  They formed a new organization of charter public schools.

"Work hard. Be nice," it became the defining slogan of KIPP Schools.  Their goal is that every student learn and then go to on to a successful college career.

College is conceived of as the best route to empowered lives, and character is considered the key.  Just as in How Children Succeed (the subject of the last three days' posts), character is important at KIPP.  They focus on:  zest, grit, self control, optimism, gratitude, social intelligence, and curiosity.

Success factors

(cont'd, How Children Succeed)

Fully living life means that you overcome problems and obstacles, that you choose between possibilities, that you imagine better things and you build something. Stress is involved.

Stress happens to everybody including children, and that's a good thing.  If a child has a parent who helps him recover from failure and adversity, he/she will be resilient and braver for life.  

But disadvantaged children by definition grow up in a chronically stressed home that may  include abandonment, abuse, alcohol, poverty, etc.  Living like this means that the child's chemical stress response system does lifelong damage if, as is often the case, no one trains him/her to recover from stress and adversity.

The emphasis to help children succeed at school has lifted off of flashcards and educational toys - to an effort to help parents be supportive.  Non-profits often coach parents now to build character qualities into their kids, something they don't know how to do if they haven't had it from their own parents.

The KIPP organization is one effort to work with parents to build successful behavior and thinking into the lives of poor children.  KIPP schools combine intense academic training with equally intense training in character qualities like self-control and optimism.  

Children succeed

(cont'd, How Children Succeed)

A number of studies now show that IQ is not the best predictor of success in school.  The key seems rather to be a set of character qualities.  High GPA may occur all along the intelligence range if the student is able to delay gratification, stick to a goal, ignore distractions, control fear, pursue curiosity, and many more.

The strongest predictor of perseverance and social skills in students is not IQ but rather . . how their parents took care of them.  Really?  Yes.  Here are some summary statements of the findings of a number of studies:

"Babies whose parents responded readily and fully to their cries were, at one year, more independent and intrepid than babies whose parents had ignored their cries."

"Early parental care predicted which students would graduate even more reliably than IQ or achievement test scores."

"Children with secure attachment [to mother] early on were more socially competent throughout their lives."

"Children whose parents had been judged disengaged or emotionally unavailable in early assessments of their parenting style did the worst in preschool,"  that is, they were more often mean, antisocial, and insecure.

"Counselors rated campers who had had secure attachment in infancy as more self-confident, more curious, and better able to deal with setbacks."

"The early nurturing attention from their mothers had fostered in them a resilience that acted as a protective buffer against stress."

"High quality mothering  . . can act as a powerful buffer against the damage that adversity inflicts on a child's stress-response system."

(Un)successful kids

It's incredibly sad to see kids fail in school who then go on to under-perform in later life.  It's a tragedy for the child/adult who can't manage to succeed at anything, and it's a tragedy of loss for his/her society.  The good this person would have contributed to other people goes un-done, and the fulfillment it would have given him/her never happens.

Conventional wisdom since about 1994 has said that children succeed at school as a direct result of the cognitive training they've had.  Some researchers narrowed it down to the number of words a child has heard by age three:  "children raised by professional parents had heard thirty million words spoken to them; the children with parents on welfare had heard just ten million."

Out of this philosophy came the industry of brain-building learning aids for children 0-3 so that concerned parents can offer more books, more flash cards, more educational videos to their young before pre-school.  

But new research seems to indicate that different factors help children succeed, not only in school but in every way.  This may mean that more at-risk kids can be helped to change their lives.

From How Children Succeed, by Paul Tough, published 2012

Thanking God

Since the 1600's, America has traditionally observed days of giving thanks to God.  Even the governor of Virginia in 1779, Thomas Jefferson, who seems not to have been Christian, nevertheless believed in God and complied with the climate of faith to include God in this Thanksgiving proclamation:

"[I]mpressed with a grateful sense of the goodness of Almighty God, in blessing the greater part of this extensive continent  . .  and manifesting in multiplied instances his divine care of these infant states . . 

"[I]t becomes us humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God, with gratitude and praise, for the wonders which his goodness has wrought  . .

"Resolved, that it be recommended to the several states to appoint Thursday the 9th of December next, to be a day of publick and solemn Thanksgiving to Almighty God, for his mercies, and of Prayer, for the continuance of his favour and protection to these United States"

Thankfulness in 1621

President Lincoln started a regular, recurrent, scheduled Thanksgiving holiday in America.  But it was far from the first time Americans had observed a day of giving thanks.

You probably know that the ship Mayflower brought colonists to the New World ("Plimoth") in December (December!) of 1620, and that about half of them died that first winter (I'd guess the rest were very, very uncomfortable).  

But the summer was productive, and the remaining 40 pilgrims plus 90 Indians enjoyed a three-day autumn feast together.  Here's one of the first-person accounts of that feast, taken from a letter: 

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. . . [A]mongst our recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us . . their greatest king Massasoit, with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted . . . [B]y the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."  (from The Book of Thanksgiving by Paul Dickson)

If you have all the food and water and warmth you need today (some really don't), and more besides, be thankful!

Memorial to Lewis

Within Westminster Abbey in London (founded 960 A.D.), there is a "Poets' Corner" for the commemoration of distinguished authors, composers, politicians, etc.  Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Benjamin Disraeli, and many others have a memorial or a burial place there.  Needless to say, it is an honor.

Last Friday, November 22, a memorial was ceremonially placed there for C. S. Lewis on the 50th anniversary of his death.

A wonderful video here will give you an idea of the significance of Lewis' influence ("C. S. Lewis:  Why He Matters Today").  Asbury University Lewis scholar Devin Brown, one of the 24-minute video's creators, says that Lewis demonstrated in his own life what it means to be a Christian in today's world.  You'll see comments from Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, author Tim Keller and many others.

Mere Christianity

(cont'd, C. S. Lewis)

The British people must have felt lonely after most of Europe had either allied with Nazi Germany or been defeated by them.  America didn't enter the war until December 1941,  so most of that year the British stood by themselves.  The radio voice they most recognized was that of Winston Churchill, and the radio voice who became second most recognized came on for the first time in August:  C. S. Lewis.

BBC radio wanted him as a non-clergyman to give several series of talks on the basic Christian faith.  A gifted Oxford scholar, he chose not to speak like a professor but rather to speak to all Britons in a tone of "common sense" (as The Guardian put it).  The book, Mere Christianity, puts all the talks together.

"Right and Wrong:  A Clue to the Meaning of the Universe" was the first series because,  sensibly, Lewis did not assume that all his listeners were on board with Biblical principles. He built the case that natural moral law is pretty much the same in different human cultures, as if that law is built into human hearts by our Creator.

Only one of his broadcast talks survived WWII that I'm aware of, and here it is.  In this talk he answers the question, "how can God listen to all people's prayers at the same time?"

Weight of Glory

(cont'd, C. S. Lewis)

"Weight of Glory" is now read as an essay though it first was a talk that Lewis gave at a church in Oxford, England, in 1941.  Maybe part of the reason why it is popular is its unusual approach:  the argument for God from desire.  

Everyone has probably had the experience of greatly desiring something and getting it - but then finding it disappointing, not the satisfaction that you hoped.

It's a common thing, and Lewis thought it could be a clue to what we're made for:  this world is not our ultimate home and our deepest longings can't be fulfilled by earthly pleasures but only in fellowship with God.

 " . . nearly every description [in the New Testament] of what we shall ultimately find if we [deny ourselves and follow Christ]  contains an appeal to desire. . Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Ross Douthat, columnist at the NY Times, had some comments about "Weight of Glory" last week.

RIP C.S. Lewis

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, professor at Oxford University and Cambridge University, and one of the most admired and quoted authors of the twentieth century.

Brilliant atheist until the age of about 32, he went on to be a brilliant and influential Christian thereafter.  His own autobiography, Surprised by Joy, and many biographies attribute his conversion to a combination of rigorous thought and a captivated literary imagination - he fell in love with the Christian narrative about the God who loved humanity sacrificially.

If you haven't read his fiction, apologetics, essays, talks, and need to get started, I could recommend a few of my favorites:  The Chronicles of Narnia (series of children's fiction - but adults love them), Mere Christianity (down-to-earth explanation of generic Christianity), The Weight of Glory (his most popular essay), Screwtape Letters (witty fictional training letters from a senior demon of hell to his trainee).

Note and remember

President Lincoln's prediction that the world would "little note nor long remember" his remarks at Gettysburg turned out to be inaccurate.  There's a bit of a movement to not only remember but even learn the short talk.

See politicians and celebrities reciting the Lincoln Gettysburg Address here.

Gettysburg address

President Abraham Lincoln was invited to the November 19, 1863, dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery, where tens of thousands were buried after a Civil War battle.  The president was not the main speaker.  He spoke for only 2 minutes, and the other speech lasted 2 hours.

Lincoln wanted to honor the dead and the cause for which they fought.  Here is what he said:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

Big Bang

(cont'd, Mere Apologetics by Alister McGrath)

One of the claims of recent atheism has been that belief in God doesn't make sense, that it's irrational.  Part of that line of argument has to do with the progress of science.

"Although New Atheist propagandists regularly declare that scientific advance and progress has eroded the case for belief in God in the last century, the facts are otherwise.  The relation of science and faith changed decisively in the later twentieth century.  The first decades of the twentieth century were dominated by a scientific belief in the eternity of the universe.  It had always existed.  Religious language about "creation" was seen as mythological nonsense, incompatible with cutting-edge scientific knowledge." (pg. 96)

Then around the middle of the last century, it became clear that - on the contrary - the universe actually had a beginning.  "Big Bang" theory is now one of the most tested and confirmed scientific theories.  Its consonance with the Bible and a Creator ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Genesis 1:1) is obvious.

Big Bang theory does not prove Christianity, nor that God exists. But it is one big piece of evidence, even scientific evidence, that says the option to believe in God is quite reasonable.