“Freedom’s just another word for, ‘nothin’ left to lose’.” Janis Joplin expressed this rather pessimistic characterization of “freedom” in the 1971 hit song, Me and Bobby McGee.” And although we, as Americans, seem to enjoy nothing more than boasting about the many freedoms that we enjoy, I suspect that more than a few of us … Continue reading
Black Church – White Church
Red states and blue states, right wing and left, liberals, conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, Progressives, Independents, Libertarians, Green Party, Trumpers, Never Trumpers, anti-vaxxers, Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, Q-Anon, the list goes on and on. Even though we are supposed to be “one nation under God”, it seems that we, as modern … Continue reading
Am I Right?
“Am I right?” During my ten years as an English instructor , this is probably the most common question I receive from my students, especially when it comes to questions of grammar. Unfortunately, however, much to the chagrin of my students, the answer is rarely a clear cut, “Yes, you are,” or “No, you’re not.” … Continue reading
The Upside Down Pyramid
I know that I’m getting older when I begin to notice the names of my former middle school and high school teachers filling the obituary pages of the online version of my old hometown newspaper with disturbingly increasing regularity. It shouldn’t come as such a shock; it has been four decades after all, since I … Continue reading
The Dilbert Way
Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip is my hero. Having spent twenty-five years in “Corporate America” I know of no one else who so adequately captures the utter ridiculousness of life in the modern business world. I think what is most pathetic is the realization that there are some (usually at the uppermost … Continue reading
Paradox of the Chosen Ones
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:12-14 English Standard Version (ESV) I confess; I’m a “word … Continue reading
Just Stuff
The late George Carlin was one of my favorite comedians. His classic routine, A Place for Your Stuff, is genius. While I am far from being a hoarder or even a minor pack rat (I have no problem throwing things away) after fourteen years in the same house I do seem to have collected a … Continue reading
Colored People on TV
Long before the blockbuster movie, Black Panther blew up, earning more than $700 million at the box office in 2018 and sparking Black Panther parties (complete with regal costumes and the “Welcome to Wakanda” salutes offered in greeting) and decades before African-Americans held our heads a bit higher and walked a bit taller on the … Continue reading
Separate Sundays
“It is appalling that 11:00 A. M. on Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour in America.” When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made this statement during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement, I believe that most Christians, black and white, understood it to be the activist’s way of saying that racial discrimination … Continue reading
Is Least Really Best?
With the 2020 elections just a little more than 18 months away, politicians and the general public are already squaring off to determine which side is “right” and which is “wrong”, since the concepts of compromise and a viable “middle ground” on economic and political issues seem to have drifted into complete oblivion. Online forums … Continue reading
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