“I’m just not affected by it.” This statement captures the common attitude toward entertainment today. More often than not, we think that what we consume on our screens is harmless and detached from our values or behavior. But is it? “We become what we behold,” the saying – often attributed to Marshall McLuhan, a philosopher
READ MOREThe tech revolution driven by AI should terrify us all, regardless of our status or situation. But there is one group that will bear the worst of this revolution: families – especially young ones. In fact, as innovations continue, young people will experience a pull greater than ever to put off – or avoid entirely
READ MOREI recently had the fun of participating in a choral performance premiering a new oratorio on the life of John Newton, the slave-trader turned Christian minister and writer of the beloved hymn, “Amazing Grace.” One never knows how something new will be received, but when the audience leapt to its feet in a wave at
READ MORENow that I’ve spent a few years as what we euphemistically call a senior citizen, I’ve discovered that the autumn of life isn’t so bad. I’ve also learned that all that talk about “old age is not for sissies” is junk. Sissy or not, the years keep on passing. You want to see an example
READ MORE“Does your mom let you wear jeans to church?” So spoke a family friend who was babysitting me and my siblings many years ago when our parents were away for the weekend. I had come downstairs that Sunday morning wearing jeans, a sweater, and a scarf. “Yes,” I said without hesitation. I thought her question
READ MORENot long ago, a certain meme multiplied across social media platforms involving clips of women asking the men in their lives how often they thought about the Roman Empire. The women in these clips were surprised and bemused when the men replied that they thought about the Roman empire frequently, sometimes multiple times daily. I found the
READ MOREIt’s never easy to admit when you’re wrong – especially when it means standing up to your own people. In the opening scenes of “Truth & Treason,” we see a young Helmuth Hübener craft his “patriotic statement.” It’s 1941, in Hamburg, Germany, and Hübener’s statement is the 16-year-old’s final task to obtain an internship at
READ MOREThis past month has made me aware that the anti-Zionism and the anti-Semitic bigotry that have infected our news media and college campuses have trickled down into my own community. In one conversation, for instance, a good friend and fellow Catholic almost 50 years younger than I, stunned me with revelations about some of her
READ MORETwo years ago, my wedding day went south when a young child pulled the fire alarm a couple hours into the reception, forcing everyone to evacuate as we waited for the fire station to turn it off. It was raining. My dress was soaked, my hair was ruined, and for a minute I thought my
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