I always find it interesting how, when MAGA supporters are pressed on whether they think that Donald Trump’s actions represent a threat to democracy, they often retort, “The United States is a republic, not a democracy.” Not only are they missing the point and focusing on unimportant semantics while the larger threats to our freedoms … Continue reading
Filed under Politics …
Remember When There Were Too Many People?
When I was a kid in the 1970s, I recall there being somewhat of a panic surrounding the idea that the world was becoming dangerously overcrowded. We were told that population growth threatened food supplies, natural resources, pollution, wildlife, and even world peace. “Zero Population Growth” wasn’t a fringe slogan—it was considered responsible citizenship. Fast-forward … Continue reading
Can (or Should?) a Christian Believe in America First?
One of my favorite online programs is a call-in show called The Line. Various hosts, most of whom identify themselves as atheists, take calls and engage in debates with believers from various faith traditions. The discussions are always interesting, although I often find myself amazed at the seemingly nonsensical things that some callers believe and … Continue reading
Why Do Conservatives Think This Way? Reflections on Piers Morgan’s Surrounded Debate
It seems that I’ve exchanged my television viewing habits for online programming. About six months ago I caught an episode of an online debate program called Surrounded. If you have never seen this program, it consists of one person with a particular point of view facing off against twenty or so other people with an … Continue reading
Who Are We Really Protecting?
I remember standing outside the men’s restroom, trying to look calm. My son was small—too young for me to feel comfortable sending him in alone, but too old to bring into the women’s room without hesitation. I stood there, pretending not to worry, listening for any sign that he might need me. Every second stretched … Continue reading
What the Cold War Taught Me – And What It Got Wrong
What the Cold War Taught Me—and What It Got Wrong 1972 was an interesting year to be a third grader in the United States. Although it didn’t occur to me at the time, it now seems as if our class spent an awful lot of time watching television. It started with the 1972 Winter Olympic … Continue reading
Who’s at the Bottom?
Between 1910 and 1970, it is estimated that more than five million African Americans migrated from the rural American South to northern cities. Perhaps, not so surprisingly, I didn’t learn about The Great Migration, until I took Black American History 200 during my sophomore year in college in 1982. Ironically, it was this same year … Continue reading
Who’d a Thunk It?
Have you ever noticed how sometimes an attempt to fix one problem can set off an entire series of unintended (and often unpleasant) consequences which we never anticipated? The first example which comes to mind was during my career as an insurance industry business analyst. When a state insurance commission required our sales agents to … Continue reading
Your Belief System is for You
Depending upon the sources used, I can be classified as either a very young Baby Boomer or a rather elderly member of Generation X, and this probably accounts that I arrived rather late to the online party known as TikTok. However, in the wake of the positively horrifying outcome of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, … Continue reading
Tell Me a Story
A question I commonly receive is, “Where do you get your ideas for things to write about?” Generally, when I hear or read about a topic that is of interest to me, I jot it down and place it in a folder on my laptop. I find that there are both positives and negatives to … Continue reading
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