Ryan's Head

This is the 8th in a series of interviews with bloggers who are part of The Blogdom of God. The Blogdom of God is a loose group of Blogs that identify themselves as 'God blogs'.

Today's interview is with Ryan's Head. The rest of him might decide to chip in on a few of the questions too.

Q: How would you define the difference between evil and insanity?

A: Evil persons commit evil acts with the full knowledge that what they are doing is wrong. Insane persons can commit evil acts; however, their mental capacity separates them from intent. Thus, some would argue that insane persons could not be considered evil.

In the context of Hitler, there is reluctance by many in labeling Hitler as insane because it would further cloud the question of WHY, separating him from the murder of millions of people. I don't believe we will ever have a satisfying answer to the question of WHY; and I'm not convinced that trying to understand Hitler will ever satisfy. The fact is, Hitler was but one person. Whether he was insane or not, he had many evil men (they can't all be insane) following his orders and fulfilling his will.

Additionally, there are also scholars who are reluctant to call Hitler "evil" because there is a lot of evidence pointing to the fact that Hitler thought what he was doing was good for humanity. He didn't see the extermination of Jews as an evil act. Therefore his intent was not evil. Now that's something to chew on.

Q: Why do you think the vast majority of German people followed Hitler?

A: There were many reasons, fear being the greatest of them. It was either kill of be killed, or at least, offer consent through silence.

German Nazi Leader Adolf Eichman's defense during his trial in Israel was that he was simply following orders. However, evidence shows that Eichman quite enjoyed his growing political status within the Nazi leadership. So there was the motivation of political and social advancement as well.

However, Hitler wasn't only empowered by the Germans. Most of the world sat in silence while he continued to build his power throughout Europe. The leaders of Europe were more interested in appeasing Hitler than they were in mitigating the threat. On October 3, 1938, after the signing of the Munich Agreement, Duff Cooper resigned his position as First Lord of Admiralty
because he believed the British Government "should have been fighting to prevent one great power from dominating the continent of Europe by 'brute force'." In his speech he noted, "When Herr Hitler broke the treaty of Versailles he undertook to keep the Treaty of Locarno, and when he broke the Treaty of Locarno, he undertook not to interfere further or to have any territorial aims in Europe. When he entered Austria by force he authorized his henchman to give an authoritative assurance that he would not interfere with Czechoslavakia. That was less than six months ago. Still the Prime Minister believes that he can rely upon 'the good faith of Hitler'…" The leaders of Europe continued to offer concessions to Hitler. The rest of the world stood by in silence. Eleven months later, WWII began.

Q: Do you think there are any situations analogous to that one today?

A: Certainly. However, this could make for an entire book. I will say that, in the absence of any of our own interests, we remain reluctant to stand up to those who are guilty of genocide.

800,000 Tutsis were killed by the Hutu majority in Rwanda when, in April 1994, their government called for Tutsi extermination. I would argue that, to know history, does not necessarily mean we won't repeat it.

And then there's Saddam. And appeasement by the U.N….

Q: How long have you lived in So Cal? (I see you lived in Denver too - which one did you like better?)

A: I am a native Californian. My family moved to Littleton, Colorado in 1984 and we lived there until 1993. From 1993 to July, 1996 we lived in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of Pennsylvania until we moved to Orange County.

I love Colorado, but I don't think I could ever leave Southern California. One day it would be nice to have a cabin in the Rocky Mountains– maybe Estes Park or Winter Park.

Q: Is there anything you can say about Southern California that most people don't know?

A: Most people think California is the land of "fruits and nuts." I'm happy to say that, literally, we are. Fruit and nut cash receipts totaled $7.14 billion in 2001.

I've always thought it would be cool to live in San Diego. People out there seem to complain a lot about the high cost of things, etc but interestingly enough, I never meet people who live in my area that moved from California.

Q: How would you guess the overall quality of life in your area measures up to other areas of the country?

A: Cost of Living is high, but the quality of living out here negates the costs. My brother and his wife are renting a three-bedroom town home in South Carolina for approximately $400 dollars a month. Ms. Lovechunk and I paid $1400 a month for a one-bedroom apartment out here (you don't even want to know what our mortgage is for our thousand square-foot condo). We wouldn't trade it for anything. We have the mountains, the ocean and 330 days of sunshine a year.

Q: You are a single income family in a world of double income families. How's your life different than theirs and do you think you'll ever join the world of double income families?

A: I guess there is a difference, but I'm not sure we notice. My wife and I decided a long time ago that when we had children, we were going to raise them. That meant that daycare was out of the question. Period. So, we refuse to see it as a bad thing that we can't afford certain luxuries because of our single income. Besides, it is only temporary. When the kid(s) grow, my
wife may want to return to work. But that infers that her staying home is not work. Believe me. It is.

Q: I'm reassured to know that someone else out there hates both minivans and PT Cruisers with the same level of intensity as I do. I refer to PT Cruisers as dorkmobiles because every person I've ever known or seen driving one, is one. What kind of vehicle do you drive and, within reason, what would you like to be driving? (No, I'm not fabulously wealthy and you're not going to wake up tomorrow and find that I've anonymously bought you your dreamcar. Sorry.)

A: We own a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Toyota Corolla. The Jeep WAS mine before baby was born. Now, the Jeep is for mom and baby. I hate the Corolla. We had plans to purchase a new Volvo S60 but that's just not in the cards right now. Sometime down the road I wouldn't mind driving a Lincoln Navigator or a Toyota Land Cruiser. Both nice, but not necessary at this point.

Q: Do you think politics and religion can mix? How? (or not)

A: That's a tricky question. I think religious people have the right (and the duty) to work in politics. Regardless of the politicians who take the separation of church and state too far, there is a moral baseline that needs to be laid down. A person should not be disqualified simply because their morals and values are based on their faith.

Q: Does your wife really like being called Mrs. Lovechunk?

A: Her full name is Ms. Dewey Lovechunk. I've called her that since we started dating in 1997. It's unique and it makes some people nauseous. She likes it.

Q: Is Get Fuzzy your favorite comic strip?

A: I like the tone of Get Fuzzy, but it's not my favorite. Peanuts is my favorite.

Q: How is being a father different than what you thought it would be?

A: The jury is still out. Andrew is only 10 weeks old and isn't asking any difficult questions about life at this point. I expected crying and feeding and changing. I expected a lack of sleep and new demands on my time. It's been an absolute blast.

Q: Are you involved with a church? What kind of church?

A: I read this somewhere: I am a Christian who chooses to live out my faith in the Catholic tradition (since 2002). And yes. We are involved.

Q: What would you like people to get from your weblog?

A: I hope they find it entertaining. I started Ryan's Head because, although I have always had the passion to write, I lacked the discipline to stay consistent. It isn't easy writing in a vacuum with very little interaction from the world around you. However, I knew that, in order to get better, I needed to write. Everyday.

Hugh Hewitt's book pointed me in the direction of the blog.

Q: How long have you been a Republican? Why?

A: Since 1993. The three years I spent in Pennsylvania could definitely be considered my "coming of age." And, while it's not a period of time I would choose to relive, I am blessed to have lived it because I learned a lot about myself.

To pay for school, I worked on a production line for a company that manufactures circuit boards for electronics (black boxes, etc.) On the line, we weren't allowed to talk but we could listen to our own personal radios and such. I started listening to talk radio. The more I listened to Rush the more I realized I wasn't a Democrat in any way shape or form.

I would have voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. Things were much different by 1996.

Q: If you could spend 15 minutes alone with George W. Bush, what would you tell
him?

A: Keep the faith. It may seem that you are alone in this world, but that doesn't mean you're wrong.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to say?

A: I think I've said enough.

Don't forget to drop by Ryan's Head and check out what's going on in there.

If you haven't read previous Blogdom of God interviews, check them out here:
Josh Claybourn
Adrian Warnock
Fr. Jim Tucker (Dappled Things)
SecretAgentMan
Totem to Temple
LaShawn Barber
Antioch Road

If you are a member of the Blogdom of God and would like to be interviewed, please contact me. -jdm