Culture
What’s going on, who we are, and what the big deal is.
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The Poisoned City
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6 min read
Two years with toxic water. That’s how long the former emergency manager expected the people of Flint to drink poison. Of course he didn’t know. But he should have. They should have tested the Flint River, the old system, the water coming out of people’s taps before they chose to make it a two-year stop-gap…
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The word terrorism should not be useful
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6 min read
It is descriptive. We can define terrorism as “The deliberate commission of an act of violence to create an emotional response through the suffering of the victims in the furtherance of a political or social agenda.” The textbook definition doesn’t say anything about Islam. [bctt tweet=”‘If we are to speak of terrorism as a useful…
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The Public Id
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3 min read
The problem with demagogues is never their action. By the time they have the power to act, it is much too late to stop them. The problem is their speech. It intoxicates and infuriates. It draws all the moths to its fiery substance and burns us with its hatred. [bctt tweet=”‘The danger is in the…
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The Impractical Life
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9 min read
At some point we have to pick. Some pick at three. I’m a golfer. Or at seventy-three. I’m a priest. We pick a path. A life. Too often, though, we let a life pick us. [bctt tweet=”‘How will you help change the world?’” nofollow=”yes”] I always struggled with the question of what I want to be when I grow…
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Why I Won’t Debate You
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5 min read
We have had a lovely time debating here on Facebook/Twitter/social media. And I have enjoyed this conversation immensely, what with all the reading and responding. I can honestly say that you have caused me to think more thoroughly about my own positions and to honestly consider yours as well. But now I’m going to have to…
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Blessed To Make Peace
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3 min read
For our darkest hours Jesus gives us a vision of the Kingdom of GOD and the blessed community. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the…