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On History, Racism, and Sitting Down For Equality
The critical moment in Iron Jawed Angels comes with war. Alice Paul and a league of women stand in front of the White House daily, compelling President Woodrow Wilson to recognize that it is long past time for women’s suffrage. They stand, protesting with the president’s own words, extolling eloquently on human dignity. So that he’ll hear them anew and not…
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The 2016 Presidential Campaign In A Nutshell
It’s Like Dinner. The 2016 presidential election reminds me of dinner. Namely the conversation around dinner. Like coming home and saying “What should we do for dinner?” And your spouse says: “Not spaghetti. #neverspaghetti” And you say “OK. We won’t do spaghetti. I’m hoping to hear what you actually want.” And they say “I’m really…
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More Than Parenting, Loving
The book had the most evocative title. It really seemed like it was written for me. Parenting Without Regret. Such a powerful statement in three words. And I felt the subtitle in my gut: “Raising Kids With Purpose, Not Perfection”. Deep and poignant. But when I picked up the book, I thought: This is like…
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Why ‘Is’ May Be Our Most Important Word
Bill Clinton Was Right About the Nature of Being Twenty years ago, in the midst of an impeachment, the sitting president made perhaps the most weasely defense ever. He infamously tried to parse the word ‘is’. In his questioning about an ongoing relationship with an intern, Former President Clinton said: “It depends upon what the…
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We Politicized Tragedy Long Before Now
If I had looked at the news Sunday morning, I would have rewritten my sermon. I’ve done that before, but I was being patient. I liked it already. I take the time in the morning, to review and reflect. I don’t look at email or listen to messages. I don’t read the news and I…
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Violence Doesn’t Teach What You Think
Violence doesn’t teach them to respect you. It teaches them the lengths you will go to have your way. We expect violence to communicate the complex thoughts, the most sophisticated of desires, the very contents of our minds, but it doesn’t make them mind readers. It doesn’t communicate what we want to communicate.…
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How Failures Win: In Movements and In Life
Failing is good. Every day I remind myself. We call ourselves perfectionists because we’re in pain. We use perfectionism as a kind of diagnosis which makes us feel better about playing it safe or feeling hurt. The kind of imperfection that can become a badge of honor – the strength we pass off as a weakness…
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Solomon Not Pharaoh
The Exodus is the seminal story of Torah and the Hebrew Scriptures. However, it isn’t the only story. If we stopped at the end of Deuteronomy, we’d be likely to see the never-failing support of GOD for the chosen people, the Children of Israel (Jacob) in the twelve tribes as complete and eternal. It is…