There is a parallel between sports and democracy. Both depend on the ability to say, “You whipped me fair and square this round; just wait till next round.” And both, as we know them today, were English inventions. I have […]
Politics
Hayward on ‘Extremism and Moderation’ in the GOP
The definition of ‘conservative’ or ‘right’ has changed greatly since the days of Goldwater, as Steven Hayward points out as far back as 2014. Steven Hayward was Larry Arnn’s right-hand man at Claremont Institute in the old days. Arnn moved […]
Timothy Snyder on the History Behind the Ukraine War
In his book, The Road to Unfreedom, Timothy Snyder intends to warn us about the threats to ‘freedom’ in America, Europe, and Russia. He reminds us that the war really started on February 24, 2014, not on February 24, 2022! […]
What Can We Do About Polarization?
There are many ways of dealing with the current political polarization. But, Fukuyama says, the best is to hope for yet another realignment, where a section of the electorate changes parties and gives one party a clear majority. A friend […]
Give Us Barabbas
In exchanging Jesus for Barabbas, the people chose a practical terrorist over The One who did not seem likely to fulfill their political dreams any time soon. The big news in Jerusalem the night of that first long-ago Good Friday, […]
Pornographic Ideas?
In every society, even those that profess freedom of speech, there are ideas and images that are perceived as too corrupting to be expressed or uttered. We used to think this way about pornography. Now we think this about certain […]
The New Southern Democrats
Large parts of the African American and Latino elements within the Democratic Party are the most moderate elements within the party, playing the same role as the mostly white Religious Right played within the Republicans. A surprising new force has […]
More on Christian Faith and Land Use: The Issue of Profiling
The big moral issue behind intentional racism, classism, and the like is the issue of ‘profiling’. Should we assume that, because of people’s appearance, color, or income, they would be more or less likely to do certain things? Or be […]
Vigen Guroian on Politics vs. Witness
Orthodox theologian Vigen Guroian tells us that orthodoxy of community is a better witness than politics. I agree. But the Religious Right was originally triggered into politics partly by a fear that they would lose their freedom to function in […]
What My Christian Faith Brings to My Views on Land Use
I have attempted to think through the implications of the teaching of the Scripture, and of the Christian faith, for land use and land use law. One issue for me is that a lot of land use law in our […]