The issue of family values has been a theme of American conservatism and the Republican Party since at least the 1970s. Generally speaking, those values as articulated by the right have come in the form of attacks on LGBTQ rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex education in schools, abortion rights, certain government programs, supposed “socialist” […]
Anu Partanen
September 11th, the Paranormal and the Power of Love
As we have recently commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, we have been reminded once again of the horror of that day, the lives tragically lost, and the aftermath of the attacks – psychologically, socially, politically, legally and with regard to health concerns of those who worked for months and […]
Tax-Talk 2021
In the United States, it’s tax season. While much can be said about taxes, taxation, why they’re necessary, what the rates are, who pays them and who doesn’t, and why we Americans complain about them, here we will focus on three issues: how simple some nations’ tax forms are compared to ours; how our tax […]
The Band-Aid Approach: The Inadequacy of Charitable Giving for Tackling Social Problems
The United States consistently ranks among the most “generous” countries in the world – we citizens routinely rank very high in the categories of helping someone we don’t know, donating money to charity, or volunteering our time to an organization. A Marketwatch article from December 2019 cites results from the World Giving Index, an instrument […]
Love and Public Policy
I recently attended a convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont with the theme “love heals.” The convention highlighted the work of Magdalene and Thistle Farms, located in Tennessee, and its amazing founding director, the Rev. Becca Stevens. According to its website, “Thistle Farms is a powerful global community of women healing from prostitution, trafficking and […]
The Incentive Argument: Lessons from Nordic Nations
There is a longstanding conservative argument in the United States that too much “welfare” leads to over-dependence on government largesse (at the expense of working Americans), a huge absence of incentive to work and be productive, and the advent of the so-called “welfare queen” (a pejorative term tinged with racist overtones). As noted in a […]
Making Millions Off Others’ Suffering 2: The Way Things Could Be
In our previous Making Millions post, we examined a number of areas of American life that are negatively impacted by large corporations and their leaders. These entities and individuals have successfully pressured Congress for decades to pass legislation that favors them; whatever their individual psychological make-up or motives, many very wealthy Americans frequently make exponentially more money […]
SPLC on BLM: Important Distinctions When it comes to Hate Groups
Let’s look from another important angle at Black Lives Matter (BLM), their message and goals, and the recent murders of police officers in our nation. As I have done in the past, I turn for wisdom to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), whose work I have followed and supported for decades. Recently supporters received […]