Category: Culture
1938 in 2010
I took an advanced preaching seminar course when I was in seminary. My preaching professor once told me that I offered good thoughts for a Revelation text, but that I had left out the hope. His point: you cannot drop bad news on people or critique without good news or some kernel of hope. It seems that Paul Krugman either believes this or received similar critique as he ends his latest article about the bad decisions of 1938 being revisited in 2010 with the paragraph below. In a time when anti-intellectualism has run a muck in our political system (not to mention religious systems) I want to believe we can find both, intellectual clarity and the political will to learn from history rather than being captive to it.
1938 in 2010
by Paul Krugman | The New York Times | September 5, 2010But always remember: this slump can be cured. All it will take is a little bit of intellectual clarity, and a lot of political will. Here’s hoping we find those virtues in the not too distant future.
Understanding “Tea Party” Participants
This is the best article I have read to date from someone wanting to engage and understand those that participate in the “Tea Party” political movement. It is interesting reading. I mentioned in a post that I was frustrated by the term “Muslim American”. This author picks up this mode as some Tea Party participants identified themselves as “Christian Americans”. This is division rather than diversity and how the fear profiteers will continue to as “lord of the manor.”
“Me” the People: A Day with the Tea Party
by Alex MCNeill | Religion Dispatches | August 30, 2010Individually, most Tea Partiers probably are nice people, trying to do what’s right, motivated by good intentions that extend from their faith in God and in their understanding of what this nation stands for. And individualism is exactly what the rhetoric of the rally was all about. From the Web site: “throughout history America has seen many great leaders and noteworthy citizens change her course. It is through their personal virtues and by their example that we are able to live as a free people. Our freedom is possible only if we remain virtuous.” Mirroring their Christology, salvation for themselves and for the country is an individual act.