James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree includes haunting accounts of racist violence and religious apathy, and several quotes from Black poets and writers reflecting on Christianity in the United States and the US’ treatment of Native and Black people here. A chapter on artists’ interpretations of the Christian crucifixion story and its similarities with their social […]
The story that won’t die
This week on Civic Hall’s Civicist blog: the story that won’t die returns. Andrew Slack uses examples from popular films and franchises to illustrate a subset of “We will win!”, the tale of the orphan who goes up against the evil empire and, after a tense confrontation, is victorious. Star Wars. Superman. The Lion King. Jesus. When […]
The Oppressor Within Ourselves
From Beatrice Bruteau’s The Psychic Grid. Why the tenor of your inner world matters and why you might sometimes be your greatest nemesis: Viktor Frankl stresses the importance of having a strong value system and a convincing worldview in one’s own interior that is life-supporting, that does not encourage weakness. We must avoid the danger of […]
Confusing Clear English
A Fresh View of George Orwell (Salon) The essential promise of Politics and the English Language was that “if you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy.” Does this ring true in 2013? From the US State Department’s carefully-worded missives to the tightly-constructed soundbites of Whitehall Britain’s counterpart to the White House, our […]
