A historic government shutdown is taking a toll on Americans in a myriad of ways. Perhaps among the cruelest is the federal government’s refusal to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP, which more than 42 million Americans…
Surviving white terror in the age of Trump and Miller
Over the past four weeks, I’ve remained close to home, venturing out only when Brad accompanies me. I’ve avoided meeting friends at coffee shops — spaces where ICE has targeted African Americans and immigrant communities. My doctoral work has been…
Who is the true proletarian?
Last month marked the 30-year anniversary of the O.J. Simpson trial verdict. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges related to the killing of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. This verdict is remembered for the starkly different reactions it triggered…
Gerrymandering the gospel
Two recent news stories caught my attention. The first was about the ongoing gerrymandering fight in Texas, and California’s counter-response through Proposition 50, which passed with strong support. Gerrymandering — manipulating district boundaries to give one group a political advantage — has…
‘Insert God here’
As a kid, I attended two elementary schools, three junior high schools and two high schools. Picture me this way: Scrawny, acne-faced, frizzy haired, shy. It is hard enough to make friends when you are 13; imagine always being the…
The only thing we have to fear …
The problem with fear is it can be a situationally appropriate emotion that triggers hyper alertness or an emotion irrationally stoked for malevolent ends. This is where we are today as a nation and as a society. And more than…
What Mama said
“Mama said” ranks next to “Jesus says” for a country boy who grew up among honeysuckle and high-pitched Southern voices. These days, I sense “Mama said” and “Jesus says” are losing credibility. “Mama said” once provided social stability (good manners,…
What does this mean?
Last night, America witnessed a political tremor that may very well be a preview of a historic electoral tsunami in 2026. From Virginia to New York, from Boston to Cincinnati, and across the statehouses and city halls of this nation,…
Women are the problem?
Really? Women are the problem? I read with incredulity and some humor the words of Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson as they pontificated in a recent interview about how women are the reason young people aren’t getting married. Rick Pidcock…
How I found hope for today in a coffee shop
I had just left my corporate job — no backup plan, no security blanket, no savings plan that made sense on paper. Just a tug in my spirit I couldn’t ignore any longer. I was tired of running from God’s…
SNAP and my family
I was ordained in 2019 in what is called the CCCC (Conservative Congregational Christian Conference) after spending time as pastor of an American Baptist church in Kansas. Because of the political upheaval in the part of the country we were…
The hypocrisy of Christian nationalists not feeding the hungry
So let me see if I’ve got this right: According to Christian nationalists, the evangelical church ought to have control over America and run the government strictly by Christian principles. Why, then, are these same people unwilling to follow the…