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What We Need to Understand is that Fascism is Intersectional and Erotic—’Thy Rod is Thy Gun,’ With a Hip-Thrust

…great relief and pleasure—What if I stop trying to be good? Stop trying to free myself? They know that Michelle Obama isn’t a racist and that their vulgar shit has nothing to do with it. But it feels good. It’s the gross thoughts. What if, what if, instead of trying to set myself free to organize with others to make a new Youngstown… What if I just stayed in the dark? It says a lot about the love of the strongman. The way the guns, a weapon, make…

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Modernity’s Fraternity: What Dan Brown Gets Right

…the Institute “explores the frontiers of consciousness” to “build bridges between science and spirit,” and “research subtle energies.” Such baloney works wonders for middle-class self-absorption, and for Brown it serves as a useful device. By merging mind and matter, it allows Brown, through Katherine Solomon, to construct his own “missing link between modern science and ancient mysticism.” Part of the appeal of Brown’s books is the hint that the…

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Beverly Cleary, Author of the Ramona Series, Understood Children, Shoes, School, Words, and How it Feels to be Heard, or Misunderstood

…arted the third grade . . . Grown-ups did not understand that summers were free from grades.” She also catches grown-ups speaking earnest nonsense. Virginia Lee Burton’s 1939 classic Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel may be about, as her teacher tells her, “digging the basement of the town hall,” but Ramona knows that her pressing question, namely, “how did Mike Mulligan go to the bathroom when he was digging the basement of the town hall?” stand…

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Persecution, Betrayal, and the Zero Sum Fight for Global Domination — Day 1 of NatCon 2024

…nservative movement’ DeMuth summarized the aims of national conservatism in 2024 as the promotion of “patriotic schooling,” an “end to civil violence and antisemitism,” and a “revival of faith, family and fertility,” while deriding “[anti-populist] elites in Brussels and Washington” along with “our atomised, feminized, self-obsessed culture where autonomy is the holy grail.” The throughline of the opening remarks of both DeMuth and his fellow NatC…

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God’s Obituary: A Humanist Response to Mass Murder

…all the answers. Rather, in light of human tragedy, humanists might offer better questions during these challenging times, as well as a space for wrestling with these questions free of cosmic justifications—and a God clearly missing in action.  I write this not to deny comfort for those who have been directly and indirectly touched by this unspeakable act of violence. Mine is an effort to acknowledge and respect grief without so quickly pushing t…

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Global LGBT Recap: Religious Leaders Support Persecution as Countries Vie in Homophobia Olympics

…critical moment. Chissano ended his letter quoting Nelson Mandela: “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Russia: Putin Tells Gays to ‘Leave Kids Alone’ But Arrests Rainbow Flag-Waving Teen As the Olympics approach, the biggest concern of Russian officials may not be international opposition to the country’s anti-gay laws but the threat of terrorism related to on…

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The Christian Roots of the New Age: The Aquarian Gospel

…es on the thorn in the very side of Christian theology: how to distinguish between body and soul, flesh and spirit. Death is a death in body; for many Gnostics, it was seen as a way to release the soul. (That, by the way, is just how Jesus views the matter in the popular Gospel of Judas, published two years ago: Judas did not betray Jesus, but rather did what Jesus asked him to do, in order to “sacrifice the man that clothes [his spirit].”) Accord…

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Top Five (Less Sensational, But More Dangerous) Things to Remember About Pat Robertson (1930-2023)

…experiments—imagining how the United States could disintegrate into a war between the righteous and unrighteous—is not necessarily a problem. Many kinds of legitimate dissent and hopes for the future can be channeled through prophetic images. Some of these are harmless or even constructive. Still, the more that these thoughts point toward the sorts of actions that Robertson seems to consider appropriate, the more disturbing they are; bordering on…

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The ‘Dreher Affair’ Highlights the Right’s International Networks

…event. The aforementioned Birgit Kelle took part in an event at the MCC to promote her book, which rails against “gender gaga” (gender nonsense) in March of 2022. Tucker Carlson has been a guest speaker at the MCC, and Rod Dreher, who was a visiting professor there last year, has praised the MCC—and Hungary—as a safe haven for right-wingers, imploring his fellow ideologues: “Head east, conservative intellectual!” When Orbán was holding court with…

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Healed of the Sin of Religion: At Church with Sara Miles

…real thing. And this transcends politics. It’s not as if liberals are any better at serving the poor than conservatives. You talk about these very progressive congregations using “charity” or of “doing good” to distance themselves from those they’re serving. I think the desire to be good gets expressed in different ways. I have a friend, a volunteer at our food pantry, who sleeps in the street under a bridge and is here at 7:30 in the morning bec…

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