Religion Dispatches
…peace movement came along to revivify conservatism; providing a satisfying domestic enemy to accompany the communist “evil empire” abroad. After the end of the Cold War, and a bit of uncertainty about who the enemy might be, the philandering ways of Bill Clinton solved the problem (and got the Democratic president impeached in the process). On September 11, 2001, Clinton’s evil ways were pretty much forgotten in a flash, as a more satisfying enemy…
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…tasks are mentioned, but men are still seen as helping while women do the domestic heavy lifting. Imagine if two men raised children. Some do, and very well despite the tired stereotypes here. Alas, transgender people will not find their realities reflected in this text. I found the text troubling at many points. For example, “We need a healthy dose of self-criticism…” especially in light of “an almost exclusive insistence on the duty of procreat…
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…with a child pedophile. I am not going to unify with a sexual abuser or a domestic abuser. I’m talking about total wickedness.” “The unity that God speaks of,” she declared, “was not for the world but for the Church.” Imprecation nation Pastor Brad stepped up to claim that they “stand in proxy for the Church in America as a whole” and prayed that God: “not let the accusations of the enemy stand, God and let not those accusations fuel the plots of…
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…ght are already owning the term “terrorist.” At CPAC in Dallas, “We’re all domestic terrorists” was flashed across a screen behind the stage, to the cheers of the audience. It’s a new, horrifying version of the anti-abortion murder redux—brought to us by the same people whose incendiary rhetoric inspired the bombings of abortion clinics. By claiming that medical personnel who perform abortions were committing murder, the right-wing had created a p…
Read More…ispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should…
Read More…orry me: economic inequity, climate change, rocketing incarceration rates, domestic surveillance and a permanent war economy. She explained that she is running as an independent because both Democrats and Republicans are so beholden to corporate funders that neither can instigate genuine reform. She believes that most Americans are disgusted by Washington’s obeisance to big business and expects they will start electing independents to get the coun…
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…n, who has warned LGBT people against becoming “provocative,” and with any number of European populists who promise a return to a mythical “traditional” past. Gessen notes that a year ago she wrote that she believed Trump would target the LGBT community ”because its acceptance is the most clear and drastic social change in America of the last decade, so an antigay campaign would capture the desire to return to a time in which Trump’s constituency…
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…rtues of pride and self-love, have led to overreaching messianic policies (domestic and foreign), and stoked apocalyptic fears. It’s difficult not to sympathize a bit with Douthat’s critique of contemporary American spirituality, even if he has a penchant for the low-hanging fruit. But this heretical American spiritual seeking is not really anything new, of course. For generations, Americans have been a religiously promiscuous people, attracted t…
Read More…s me. It seems a bit nefarious in light of the revelations about the NSA’s domestic surveillance program. Somebody is surely watching us, but it is the government, not Santa. Santa and elves fit into our current moment of surveillance and data mining. The classic song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” illustrates how. Santa is an omnipresent figure who watches children both day and night. “He knows when you are sleeping/He knows when you’re awake.”…
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…ly in the entertainment industry), and families who hired them to do their domestic labor. But my good instinct not to be rude or preachy overpowered my selfish need to be understood as a serious thinker, and I let it pass. This was not an isolated incident, and I have exacerbated my own problem by finally publishing the book I’ve been working on for the past ten years, Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball. Along the way, I have also taught…
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