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Blog 3 Columns

  • Washington Irving on the Problem with Christmas

    Washington Irving on the Problem with Christmas0

    There are generally two main complaints I hear every time Christmas rolls around. The first is that Christmas has become hectic and exhausting. The second is that it has been stripped of all that is meaningful and neutralized so as not to give offense. I thought of these two complaints when I came upon a

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  • There’s a Secret Code in One of Your Favorite Christmas Carols

    There’s a Secret Code in One of Your Favorite Christmas Carols0

    • December 14, 2016

    You’ve most likely heard the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” played during the holiday season. What you might not know is that it refers to a yearly tradition that begins on December 17 each year, namely, the “O Antiphons.” It is the Christian belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, and that his coming

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  • The Story Behind Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’

    The Story Behind Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’0

    Charles Dickens was mad. He was angry at his father, who was sent to debtors’ prison, forcing young Charles to pawn his belongings, drop out of school and work in a shoe-polish factory. He was also angered by the conditions in which England’s poorest children lived and worked. He was going to publish a political

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  • Smartphones are Killing Relationships

    Smartphones are Killing Relationships0

    The majority of our relationships are in shambles. The U.S. divorce rate hovers at 40 percent, but that’s not the whole story. Many intact relationships are on life support. According to a survey by the National Opinion Research Center, 60 percent of people in a relationship say they’re not very satisfied. There are some familiar

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  • Quick Quiz: Do You Know the Basics of Modern Philosophy?

    Quick Quiz: Do You Know the Basics of Modern Philosophy?0

    The ideas of the great modern philosophers have shaped the way men and women today view the world. Therefore, for the sake of cultural literacy, one should have some familiarity with these ideas.  Take this brief quiz below to see if you’re up to speed with some of the basics of modern philosophy.    

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  • Orwell on the Difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism

    Orwell on the Difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism0

    A prominent intellectual at a recent private meeting was asked the difference between nationalism and patriotism. His response was similar to the explanation Justice Potter Stewart once offered on the difference between “obscene speech” (i.e. porn) and “protected speech”: “I know it when I see it.” George Orwell, in his essay Notes on Nationalism, offered

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  • About Those Apparitions Who Shook Down Scrooge for Money

    About Those Apparitions Who Shook Down Scrooge for Money0

    No Christmas season would be complete without plentiful opportunities to watch stage or television productions of Charles Dickens’ unfortunately immortal A Christmas Carol. The classic Reginald Owen and Alastair Sim movies will no doubt play several times on multiple cable channels. We have a live production showing at the Alleyway Theatre here in Buffalo, N.Y.

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  • 4 in 10 Completely Clueless on 1st Amendment

    4 in 10 Completely Clueless on 1st Amendment0

    December 15th marks the anniversary of the American Bill of Rights. At the time the Bill of Rights was inaugurated, Thomas Jefferson noted that every government is obligated to provide such rights for its citizens.  Unfortunately, many Americans today seem oblivious to this entitlement. Take, for example, the man-on-the-street interview Jay Leno conducted several years

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  • The Politicization of Everything

    The Politicization of Everything0

    What do Anheuser-Busch InBev, Grubhub, New Balance, Kellogg’s, and the HGTV show Fixer Upper have in common? On the surface, not a whole lot—except that, over the past several weeks, each one has been the subject of a political controversy. On October 28th, Adweek reported that Anheuser-Busch InBev was ending its parodic “Bud Light Party” commercials “a little earlier than

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