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Our Do Unto Others Problem
We have a do-unto-others problem. You know, like from the Golden Rule. The one that says we treat each other well. The one that undermines our convictions around immigration. That one. The Golden Rule is ubiquitous. We all know it or some form of it. The phrasing which jumped into my head first is this:…
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Swindled By Authoritarianism
We mistake extremism in belief for political extremism. The rise of authoritarianism isn’t only tied to political division or partisanship. Authoritarianism is an extremism we can find anywhere in politics. Why our fear of division blinds us to the real threat to democracy We’ve taken it as gospel that we’re divided. It seems like we…
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Fundamentalism and the Fear of Being Wrong
We keep hearing about how divided we are. That we’re more polarized and uncivil than ever. That we hate each other more. But this isn’t the whole truth. Our division doesn’t come from a common rejection of the common ground. It stems from fundamentalism, which is a fundamentally divisive ideology. Because fundamentalism has to be…
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So This is Where We Are
SO THIS IS WHERE WE ARE Teenage survivors speak out. The media follows the story. Some grown-ups pass pictures of the teens with targets on their chests. An adult talk show host teases a teen for not getting into all the schools. Calls come for advertisers to pull ads from her show. Some don’t. One…
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White Nationalism and the Limits of Free Speech
White nationalism wants you to treat it like an honest ideology. It wants you to debate it, honor it, privilege it. But it isn’t yet another source of water flowing into the well, it’s poison. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece on white nationalism. Specifically, I wrote about the challenge in responding…
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Our Guns, Our Idols – preventing the peace
I had this neighbor a few years ago. He made it really clear where he stands about guns. And about what he thinks about everything I value. Years ago, we moved to a small town in Michigan. A bit under 6,000 people and up against the big water. Water to the east, other communities to…
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The Problem Is We Treat White Nationalists Like They Are Honest
We seem to treat White Nationalists like their hate is normal. Like they’re the obnoxious kid we have to tolerate. Even after they’ve proven they’re more likely to be the sociopath threatening our community. A few years ago I was concerned by a growth in cyber-bullying. And at the time, it seemed like there was more to…
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Love Awakens
Another shooting, further proof of the dangerous social pathologies in the American body politic, could be just a number. But instead, it’s awakening the spirit of love long dormant and suppressed by fear and a narrow understanding of freedom. Last week, I had to write a new sermon. The gospel was about the beginning of…