February - The Short Month

I posted this article 2 years ago today. It is one of the more popular posts which I have written. The history of the calendar has always fascinated me; from the early religious lunar calendars to the more modern solar calculations and even the atomic clock; it’s all of interest to me. Time itself may be infinite; but you and I are here for a finite period, which will come to an end soon enough. Maybe that’s why I’m so concerned about how they keep score; I wouldn’t want to miss a single minute!

Imagine having your summer vacation in January, or Christmas in June. Seems unlikely, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly where we would be at today if Caesar had not adopted the changes to the “Julian” calendar when he added one day every fourth year to keep everything in order. Of course, we know it as leap year, and it is an accepted part of living, engendering such witticisms as, “If you’re born on February 29th then you don’t get to vote until you’re 72 years old!” Or, “If you marry on February 29th then you only have to buy the wife a gift every 4th year.” Right; you try it, and let me know how that works out for you.

I have always been fascinated by numbers, even when failing math in grammar school.(I was fascinated at how low my grades were.) Still later, while working as a grocery clerk, before the advent of the modern day cash register, I was further enamored of the precision of numbers in general. And, still later, as a Quartermaster in the Navy, and then as a qualified 3rd Mate aboard oil tankers, the absolute nature of the stars in their movements, hooked me on math forever. In that spirit I offer the following, and accepted, mathematical reasons for the need of a leap year.

In 46 BC, Julius Caesar was faced with the problem that the Roman calendar then in use had slipped 81 days. This was especially noticeable at the spring equinox, which was an agricultural benchmark affecting the planting of crops. Something needed to be done to correct the error. Caesar simply added 81 days to the calendar, and instituted the leap year, bringing all things back to their proper order; for a time.

The Julian calendar, which is the one in use from 46 BC until 1582 AD, was based upon 365.25 days for one journey around the sun. Now, this was pretty good shooting for 46 BC, but by the 16th Century advances in science, and navigation, had revealed the actual length of time to orbit the sun as being a bit shorter; 365.2422 days, which meant that we were now out of whack by 10 days, which was fouling up the date on which to observe Easter. In preparation for Easter of 1582, Pope Gregory XIII deleted 10 days for that year, which reset the clock, so to speak. That became known as the Gregorian calendar, which is what we still use today.

As time has gone by, even the Gregorian calendar has come up for correction. George Washington, the father of our country, was actually born on the 11th of February in 1732. His birthday was advanced by 11 days in 1752 when the colonies switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. I have never really been sure of why the colonies were using the older Julian calendar, so I will have to look into that. But poor George Washington, he seems destined to never have a permanent birthday, as we now celebrate his special day as a three day weekend, or President's Day, which gives him a “leap” in his birthday every year, rather than one in every four.

There are many different calendars in use around the world, each with its own version of Leap Year. My own religion, Judaism, makes use of the older Lunar calendar which requires a correction of almost 20 days, or so, making it a 13 month year. That month is named Adar I, or, the "lucky" month. It is neatly slipped in between the months of Shevat and Adar, giving the leap year a total of 385 days. The Jewish Leap Year is also known as the "Pregnant" year; "Shanah Me'uberet" in Hebrew; as it bulges with extra days. These leap years are distributed 7 times over a 19 year period, and occur during the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years of the cycle. This is known as the Metonic cycle and marks the moons return to the exact place, at the same longitude, with the same constellation in the sky. Moreover this occurs at the time when the moon is in the exact same phase as it was at the beginning of the cycle.

I hope this has been of some help to you in understanding the calendar we use today; especially how it relates to the lunar, religious cycles which govern most of our religious holidays. It’s a fascinating topic and this small post of mine merely touches upon the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

The Scopes Trial - Two Views

This is an actual photo of the closing arguments in the Scopes Monkey Trial which tackled the issue of Evolution in 1925. The story is familiar to almost all Americans; and still rages today; Creationism versus Evolution. We will leave that argument for another time. I will only quote the late John Paul II, who said, "Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes." I tend to believe that there is much truth in that statement.

The focus of this post is the difference between the movie "Inherit the Wind" with Spencer Tracy as Clarence Darrow, facing off with Fredric March as William Jennings Bryan. I have never understood the need to turn the real life trial into fiction. Don't get me wrong, it's one of my favorite films. Although it takes a bit of license with some of the characters, the courtroom dialogue is almost verbatim with the words spoken during the trial. Except for one little difference; the summation; which was actually held outdoors, just across from the courthouse. The trial had engendered so much interest that there was simply not enough room for all of the interested spectators and press attending the proceedings.

Another great difference is that although lawyers are actors to some extent, the trial was recorded audibly, and listening to the same summations by the actors versus the lawyers is a “no win” for the lawyers. They have the words, but the actors have the greater ability to deliver them with the passion they deserve.

The photo above is of the actual summation; note that William Jennings Bryan (seated) is snapping his suspenders, just as Fredric March did in the film. The man in the foreground, and speaking, is Clarence Darrow. There are radio broadcasts of the trial available on line so that you can compare the two different deliveries for yourself. A scene from the movie is posted below with the link provided. The You Tube embeds from the film have been disabled by request, hence the link, rather than the actual film. By the way; note the resemblance between William Jennings Bryan and Fredric March; in the photograph above, as well as the film, it's positively uncanny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Kdc0LLSW8&feature=related

Explaining Turkey - The Buffer to Islam

Turkey is an enigma, ruled by an elected President, whom in turn is overseen by a Secular Military tasked with upholding a Secular Constitution in an overwhelmingly Islamic country. That Turkey has recently, in 2007, elected an Islamic government, has made this all the more miraculous. That is until last week, when the military resigned in the face of a growing Islamist government. First, as I like to say, a little background....

Turkey, at the end of the First World War, was struggling to recover from her near destruction as the seat of the Ottoman Empire. Prior to the war Turkey had already fought the Italian-Turkish War (1911–1912), the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), and the resultant First World War (1914–1918). T.E. Lawrence, popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, had sided with the Turks in their fight against the Axis powers, advocating for a strong and unified Turkey.

The Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922) was born of the ethnic struggles between the differing tribes of Islamics. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the leader and first President of the new Republic. His vision was to bring Turkey into the 20th century by ending the tribal warfare which had plagued Turkey since the birth of Islam. In order to do this he had to outlaw both the Fez, and the Veil, two of Islam's most iconic images. His goal is best stated in this quote from a 1923 speech in which he outlined this vision, “ ...by complete independence, we mean of course complete economic, financial, juridical, military, cultural independence and freedom in all matters. Being deprived of independence in any of these is equivalent to the nation and country being deprived of all its independence.”

Turkey’s road has not been an easy one. Since the founding of the Turkish Government in 1923, she has been continually plagued by sectarian fighting and terrorism. That Turkey has survived in the Middle East, sandwiched, as it is, between the Soviet Union and the West, is somewhat of a miracle. That she has survived internal divisions is unbelievable. But there is a reason that she has weathered the storms. And that reason is often hard for Americans to understand.

We, in the West, take for granted the freedoms which we enjoy. Our military is limited to strategic goals defined by our elected officials. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. We argue amongst ourselves, and we even come close to the edge of destroying our own democracy, but we always seem to step back at the last moment, allowing reason to prevail. Currently, we are struggling with a fervent religious movement which would bring religion into our government, in spite of the tenets of our Constitution. Here is where a good look at Turkey can offer a lesson in regards to safeguarding our secular freedoms.

The Turkish military is today facing the largest crisis since the formation of the government almost 90 years ago. In the last Presidential election, in 2007, the people elected a Pro-Islamic candidate as President. When the time came to swear the new President into office, the military was conspicuously absent from the proceedings. And with good reason. Let me give you an example, which I witnessed first-hand during my travels in Turkey between 1978 and 1984.

When I first visited Turkey in 1978, the country was in turmoil. Islamic insurgents, seeking to topple the duly elected government, were doing what they do best. There were daily bombings and shootings in the streets. These battles were fought not only with the government, but with the competing tribes vying for control of the country, who would gladly take Turkey back to the days preceding formation of the Government. When the people went to the polls and elected an Islamic candidate as President, the military simply took over, as mandated by their Constitution, until such time as the people were willing, and able, to elect a responsible secular leader. At the time I remember thinking what a load of crap this was. There was no way in which the military would ever give the reins of governance back to the people. Boy was I wrong.

By 1983 the people had united behind a secular candidate and the military held elections. The Secular candidate prevailed and the military returned control of the country to the Turkish people. I was there. I was astonished.

By 2007 the electorate voted for Abdullah Gul as a candidate for president. However, Turkey's secular establishment considered Gül as having a hidden Islamist agenda that sought to undermine the strict separation of religion and state, and they opposed his nomination. The Grand National Assembly – the body politic that at the time chose Turkey's president – much like our Electoral College system, allowed Gül to take office. That vote was annulled by the courts on Constitutional grounds, Gul had not received the required 2/3 majority of the Grand National Assembly. A major political crisis ensued, and new laws were enacted to have the President elected by popular vote every 5 years, beginning in 2012. Thus, the President’s term would be reduced to 5 years, rather than the 7 year term which had been the norm.

By March of 2008, Turkey's chief prosecutor petitioned the Constitutional Court to ban the Justice and Development Party (Gul’s party) for "anti-secular activities.” This came on the heels of parliamentary approval for a constitutional amendment which would allow women to wear headscarves at universities. Although the Constitutional Court later ruled that the scarf reform violated the constitution's secular principles, the Court narrowly upheld the amendment.

What all this amounts to is Turkey’s slide back into an Islamic state, and the restoration of the Ottoman Empire. Last Friday the top Commanders of the Turkish military resigned en masse. This was the result of a disagreement with the Government over military promotions and some corruption trials, which are ongoing. At first glance this looks like an ordinary legal case, but the roots run much deeper than that. They strike at the heart of modern Turkey, which has, in recent years, once again been struggling against Turkish Islamists, notably in the Southern part of the Country, with the Kurds, who are supportive of an Islamic state. This is the same tribe which was a problem to Iraq’s military government under Hussein, which we toppled in an ill-advised war in 2003.

The real fear for Turkey, at this juncture, is the question of whether or not the military will allow the country to slide backwards into an Islamic state. As the land-bridge straddling the East and West, this is of extreme importance to America, as well as Western Europe. Having toppled the regime in Iraq, replacing it with an ineffective government, at a time when Egypt also seems to be sliding in that direction, an Islamist Turkey would virtually restore, intact, the Ottoman Empire which was so carefully taken apart as a result of the First World War. This bodes ill for the West. Turkey has served us well for almost 90 years, acting as the buffer between the East and West. Keep your eyes on this situation, as the outcome will affect us greatly in the years to come.