Donald Trump’s victorious presidential campaign rode a wave of nationalism and religious hatred as old as humankind itself, said Todd Stiefel, executive producer of the documentary Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy. The 2024 film shows how Trump…
The survey findings keeping me up at night
Like every other high-quality survey, the topline results of PRRI’s American Values Survey shows the presidential election — both at the national level and in the battleground states — as a toss-up. Moreover, the PRRI data generally confirm earlier Pew…
We should follow the words of Jesus, ‘No more of this!’
For as long as I can remember, I have loved watching rivers, with their beautiful shapes, surfaces and movements. If you’ve ever watched a river, I’m sure you’ve noticed its current is a powerful thing. It shapes the river’s boundaries…
We can’t let political violence be used to silence concerns about rising political violence
On the flight home from our family vacation on Saturday, my phone lit up with messages about the horrific and thankfully unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at his rally in rural Pennsylvania. In the wake of that awful event,…
Amid concerns about video game-inspired violence, a ‘Christian’ game slays ungodly enemies
Twenty-five years ago, I sat in my living room as a junior in high school watching the Columbine shooting unfold. Seeing students my age filing out of the school, I had no idea how that moment would impact me or…
Trump’s perverted and violent rhetoric requires a response
Donald Trump reposted a video to his personal social media website depicting President Joe Biden with his hands and feet tied together in the back of a pickup truck. Disgusting, but what’s new? Observing Trump’s perverse rhetorics — visual and…
Bartering in the Marketplace of Violence
Our words don’t matter anymore. There once was a time when they did. Media reach was limited by its medium, be that print or electronic, but with the advent of social media and the omnipresent internet, something changed. Anybody’s thoughts…
Can you hear him now?
Throughout most of the 2000s, Americans grew accustomed to an ever-present ad campaign with the tagline, “Can you hear me now?” Actor-pitchman Paul Marcarelli showed up all over the place, boasting of the reach of Verizon Wireless service where other…
Why can’t we just ‘BE KIND NOW!!’?
Thanks to a kindness art campaign going on at our local elementary school this month, I have received multiple notes from my youngest child with a rainbow drawing and one simple command: “BE KIND NOW!!” These BE KIND notes came…