Category Archives: Culture

Some Post-Election Thoughts

Some Post-Election Thoughts

1. The Electoral College

The electoral college is not better or worse than a pure majority election. It is simply a different form of democracy. Both forms (popular vote or electoral college) have pros and cons. Our system is a Republic, set up on state-based representation (were are the “United States”). Continue reading

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MLK’s “I Have A Dream” Speech

MLK’s “I Have A Dream” Speech

It is difficult to say about any of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches, “This one is his best.”  The depth of content and delivery of his messages is so consistent every time he spoke.  However, there are messages that are more well known and more influential in the thinking, conscience, and behavior in the history of our nation.  One of those messages is his speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., delivered to over 250,000 who had gathered for the March on Washington in the summer of 1963. Continue reading

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The Weapons of Our Warfare: The Question of Churches Arming Themselves

The Weapons of Our Warfare: The Question of Churches Arming Themselves

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who works on the staff of a nearby church. He shared with me that they were having conversations about what to do if an extremist attack took place at one of their services or programs.  According to my friend, much of the conversation centered on the idea of providing armed security (off-duty police officers) as well as intentionally arming and training some staff or congregation members. Continue reading

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Fifty-two Years Ago

Fifty-two Years Ago

Fifty-two years ago today, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

I wasn’t alive then. It was seven years before I was born. I grew up in the decades following one of the the most internally divided and violent eras in U.S. history since the Civil War.  However, studying history and remembering the feel of growing up after these events (the distrust of government, the angst and anger of Vietnam), it reminds me that the present times are perhaps more like the past than we would like. Continue reading

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The White House’s Secret Deal with Iran

The White House’s Secret Deal with Iran

NOTE:  This post was written as a form of satire, as test to 1) see how people (particularly conservatives) would respond when they became aware at the end of the article that the following events were part of the 1980’s Iran-Contra affair under President Reagan rather than concerning President Obama and the current U.S.-Iran discussions and 2)  see if people in the social media world of Facebook or Twitter would actually read the article before making comments on those platforms.  It was clear that many did not read the article or follow its source links, but only read the headline, and responded accordingly.  Several reposted and shared the link thinking it was about the current administration.

Since so many did miss the Iran-Contra connection, I have decided to be clear about the nature of this post.  I would not want it to become the source of mis-information or vitriol. 

The following information provides some perspective for responding to the recent Iran deal. It also has bearing on our reactions and responses the potential Benghazi cover-up:

An Illegal Conspiracy to Mislead the American People

Through a series of incidents involving low level operatives, it is known that key and high-ranking members of the National Security Council, the CIA, and the White House approved illegal sales of weapons to Iran via a third-party country and attempted to keep it a secret from the American people. This was done:

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Ryan Abernathy and Todd Littleton on Food Stamps, Welfare, Poverty, and the Church

Ryan Abernathy and Todd Littleton on Food Stamps, Welfare, Poverty, and the Church

My friend Todd Littleton posted a great interview (as well as some of his own thoughts) with Ryan Abernathy, Senior Director of Programs and Nutrition at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, concerning government services such as food stamps (SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), other services, and the church’s role with those in poverty.  Todd’s post also links to another two part  interview with Ryan entitled “Facts About American Poverty” (part 1 and part 2) over at Marty Duren’s Kingdom in the Midst blog.

I highly encourage you to read all three of those posts and listen to the podcast.  Here are some snippets of the latter:

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David Fitch: On Being On The Wrong Side of History

David Fitch: On Being On The Wrong Side of History

I don’t really know David Fitch‘s views or positions on most issues (though I can guess), but I enjoyed this article. I’ve thought for a while that “The wrong side of history” is a phrase that has very little meaning in terms of rational debates, especially about issues of justice (where too often the oppressed have not been those writing history).  It has been an especially troublesome phrase when it is used to simplistically (and erroneously, as Fitch points out) argue that the church and followers of Jesus have consistently been “on the wrong side of history” in terms of social issues.   Continue reading

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