Mulligan Stew, Truth, and Worldviews
In the early twentieth century the activist Rosa Luxemburg wrote, “The most revolutionary act is a clear view of the world as it really is.” As a Humanist, this is the idea I hold most dear. I don’t...
View ArticleKick the Dog, Pet the Dog—Off-Loading Anxiety
There’s two things we can do with suffering: we can kick the dog; or we can pet the dog. That’s really as complicated as it gets. We can kick the dog; or we can pet the dog. Or the cat. Or the...
View ArticleRisking together
It has been over two decades now, but I still remember being assigned A Feminist Ethic of Risk as an undergraduate political science major. I did not know at the time how profoundly my ethical...
View ArticleHappy Holidays From the Cruel Optimisms
Isn’t it just a tad too ironic that one of the US national icons is called Mt. “Rush-more”? Sure, I know—it’s named after a rich white guy, but Mt. Rushmore? I’m thinking Americans need a Mt. Rush-less...
View ArticleWorking for Posterity
Sir Boyle Roche was an eighteenth century Irish politician known even today because of his unfortunate turns of phrase. He was the master of mixed metaphors. He once said, “Mr Speaker, I smell a rat; I...
View ArticleShine on! Faithful living in a breakable world
I spend a lot my time and life energy organizing with the New Orleans community inside the walls of a church with no windows. Hearing my boots crunching on the shattered glass on the floor after a...
View ArticleIn the Name of Love
There has been a lot to process in the Unitarian Universalist world over the past few weeks. I want to take a moment to focus on the calling in that beloveds in our faith have lifted up regarding the...
View ArticleThe Lesson of Sunday School Cards
My dad was out of work a lot when I was a kid, so we traveled from town to town in the Southeast. Consequently, I attended all sorts of churches, from strip mall storefronts to white wooden boxes with...
View ArticleUntil the Cows Come Home
(being a personal summary of the Zen story of the Ten Bulls*) As the youngest, it was my job to find the cattle each evening and bring them back to the barn. The herd might be anywhere across the...
View Article#Epicurus and Atomic Moderation
Working out the implications of what it means that “mind” is a function of the brain is perhaps the greatest challenge—both medically and philosophically—of the twenty-first century. People are working...
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