For me, one of the largest lessons of this election has to do with the ears of America. In a general sense, they are closed. This is not something I did not know, but I have been mildly surprised by the severity of this self-imposed deafness. Before the election of Donald Trump, the left spent … More A President Born from the Sewage of Reality TV: no one was listening
I am catching up on things I did not have time to do this October, even as I close up the last little loose ends of a busy, busy month. The things that happen in October embody some of the dreams I have for the rest of the world. A growing group of my friends and … More A Jew and a Gentile walk into a Cigar Shop…
Four days until the world ends. There is no hope. We are left with the options of a trigger happy, power hungry woman who wants to fill our nation with murderous emigrants, or an orange-haired baboon attempting to mimic The Joker with his finger on the nuke button. Make up your sandwich boards now, and … More Politics has Become an Apocalyptic Cult: The End is Nigh!
Today, Wikileaks tweeted that Julian Assange’s internet link was severed by the “state party”. Rumors of Assange’s death circled around, and with it the rumor that the 64 character string of code was a dead man’s code that released all the documents in Wikileaks hands. The debate over Wikileaks and it’s benefit and/or harm to democracy continues, … More Wikileaks and Democracy: Good or Bad? I Say Good.
Since watching the Republican National Convention last week I have been reading SHAM by Steve Salerno. SHAM is strong critique of the Self-Help and Actualization Movement. I can not help but see last week’s Republican Convention as a variation on the motivational/self-help theme. Now, I realize that these things are not directly connected. Tony Robbins … More The RNC a SHAM?
By Phil Wyman The following is not meant to persuade anyone’s choice in the upcoming Presidential election. Rather, these are personal observations and feelings about this year’s Presidential election cycle. They represent my own thoughts, and a growing number of people I have been meeting along the way. There are some of us, who truly … More The Case for Not Voting
The book Burning Religion is a study in the spaces between people in disagreement, between political and national views, between church and secular life, and even between nations. The rise of Donald Trump’s run for the Presidency, and last week’s successful “leave” Brexit vote in Britain highlights the issue of the spaces and the boundaries between … More Brexit, Trump, Fences and Neighbors
Donald Trump has placed the word “winning” into the strategic political position this election, and he has done it in a way that has not been seen before. Winning at all cost has always been a grotesque undercurrent of politics, but winning has entered into a new category this year. Winning has now become evidence … More The Unholiness of Winning as a Political Strategy
“Humanity is objectified by the objects it objectifies. We are abused by the systems and the people we abuse. They become ghosts haunting us. They become the demons of our tortured nights.” – Burning Religion pg. 70 In Man’s Search for Meaning,[i] neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl begins his story of imprisonment in the Nazi … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 3)
We are enamored with strength, fame, and money. We have given these things nearly messianic attributes. It appears we think that they will save us, or so, that is how it looks this voting season. But, I believe our votes have the potential to betray us. The Strengths Movement looks back to Peter Drucker’s books … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 2)
The 2016 Presidential campaign is making fools out of the American people. The world is both laughing and/or incredulously horrified at what they are seeing. Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin suggested that other people knew us better than we know ourselves. This is certainly not true in every respect, but when people watch our actions, we … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 1)
“The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!” Donald Trump – Christmas Day Tweet I am weighing into this topic about Pope Francis and Trump six days after it blew up – rather late considering the pace of the news, but then … More Trump, You’ve been Poped! – evaluating the exchanges between them
A cultured individual does not talk about certain things in public. Well, not at least in cultured settings, but the taboos of discussion have expanded far beyond the realms of the cultured, and are now coffeehouse, and pub taboos as well, unless of course, one is willing to tacitly agree with the most disagreeable things. … More Trump, Wasserman and Taboo Talk as Social Justice
May the Farce be with you. We watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We were surprised. We were laughing. Some of us were crying. Some of the audience around us clapped and cheered when familiar faces and gadgets appeared. Star Wars is an institution of important childhood memories for many people today. Somehow the cheesy, the … More The Farce Awakens!
Happy Birthday Jesus! This year, we are giving you a pile of coal. Yes, it’s your 2,015th Birthday (or 2,016th or 2009th or whatever some scholar is going to tell us), but this year the best we could scrape up for a gift is some low grade extra smoky coal. Not even a good hard chunk … More Happy Birthday Jesus! – Larycia Hawkins & Mark Driscoll
Burning Religion 