We are six weeks out from what may be the most consequential election of our lifetime, and the presidential race remains a statistical tie. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, is a narcissistic charlatan who will say anything to grab the spotlight and fire up his base. He had never held elected office before being elected…
Category: Politics
The Youth Vote
In 1980, I voted for John Anderson in my first presidential election. I was a registered Democrat and felt that Jimmy Carter was an honorable man but an ineffective president. Anderson, a liberal Republican running as an Independent, offered a refreshing choice. Forty-four years later, I still feel good about that vote. Young people should…
Broken
Like most Americans, I was heartbroken over the mass shooting in Texas that killed innocent children at school. I was heartbroken to learn that the shooter was just 18 years old, the same age as the shooter who killed 10 black people at a grocery store in Buffalo just ten days earlier. But what breaks…
A National Epiphany
January 6 is the one-year anniversary of an armed assault on the U.S Capitol. It is also Epiphany in the Christian calendar. Meaning “revelation” or “manifestation,” Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles, symbolized by the magi who came from the East to honor him. January 6, 2021, was a revelation as well,…
New Neighbors
The UN Climate Summit known as COP26, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month, was notable for the older, white men who dominated the official sessions and the much more diverse and younger crowds demonstrating outside. Less visible were representatives of religious groups from around the world, although many were there and some had…
All Lives Matter
With all the horrible news these days, one story that stopped me in my tracks recently was Scott Simon’s tribute to Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died at the hands of police in 2019 in Aurora, Colorado. Last week three police officers and two paramedics where indicted in his death. As he walked…
Why I Fly My Flag
On the 4th of July, I flew my American flag, as I do on most national holidays. But doing that as a white Christian could now label me with an ugly form of patriotism that believes that only those who share my racial and religious identity are true Americans. An African American wondered aloud to…
Dangers of Propaganda, Part 2: The Believers
In this second post about the role of propaganda in the recent election, we look at the millions of Trump supporters who believe his claims that the election was rigged. In trying to understand how a large swath of American voters could believe such a specious claim, we make the mistake of assuming there is…
The Dangers of Propaganda, Part 1: The Liars
When the dust of the 2020 election settled, Republicans were so stunned by Biden’s victory that more than half believed Donald Trump’s lies about a rigged election. Even while savoring victory, Democrats were stunned that 74 million people had voted for Trump, 10 million more than in 2016. The election results and the polarized responses…
The Times They Are a-Changin’
My interest in social change dates to a seminary lecture by homiletics professor David Buttrick at Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1998. I have always been a big picture thinker, and Prof. Buttrick literally drew a map that has shaped how I see that “big picture” ever since. The class was Theology of Proclamation and Worship,…