Following Jesus in rejecting empire
When I’m feeling especially peeved about my country, it’s important to call to mind some of the things I love about it – Freedom of press, trial by a jury of one’s peers, and squirrels. However, there are times when the privilege of leaving the borders of America for a period of time serve as…
Once when we had a Middle Eastern student living with us, he took off on Janine’s bicycle. This was a bit disconcerting given that he did not ask permission. Whisk! There goes Yahya on Janine’s bike. Where is he going? How long will he be gone? Perhaps he is running away. Maybe he intends to…
Dear Sports Imbecile: As a fellow halfwit when it comes to sports, I felt it important to share some lessons I’ve learned about living with this rare social handicap. A football is neither. The game called football has hardly any foot work and the so-called “ball” is really a prolate spheriod. WARNING: Saying, “hey guys,…
There’s been a lot said about tribalism lately, mostly bad. I’m not a sports guy, but when I listen to sports fans, I see our tribalistic tendencies at work (by the way, you know the word “fan” is short for “fanatic: a person exhibiting excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion toward some controversial matter.”) But…
While I have not read the book Strongmen, I have watched the rise of global leaders who could be described that way. Bombastic, egotistical, self-righteous, excessively confident (and almost always men). They are populist autocrats, and I find their rise to power proportionate to a rise in fear. This isn’t a new phenomenon, nor is…