Category: American Culture
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As much as I respect and admire David Brooks, he got it wrong this time. In his March 10 op-ed piece, “The Modesty Manifesto,” he notes how we have turned into a culture of self-aggrandizement. How we have become a society of individuals who think they are special and that they are entitled to things,…
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Chief Justice Roberts was right when he wrote in yesterday’s opinion protecting the speech of protestors at a military funeral that “debate on public issues should be robust, uninhibited and wide-open.” However, the particular speech in this case that he and the seven concurring justices ruled was protected by the 1st Amendment consisted of, “God Hates…
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Why is the lack of ethics so prevalent in American life at all levels? The financial crisis and the Deep Horizon oil spill have revealed once again an all-too-familiar pattern in American business and government. Corporations take actions, even risky ones, without regard for the potential negative impact on the public, and government regulators who…
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Life for American Muslims has gotten more difficult in the wake of the Islamophobia that has swept across the land since last August’s “Ground Zero mosque” demonstrations. Case in point: the Orange County, CA District Attorney recently filed criminal misdemeanor charges against Muslim students for disturbing a public meeting and conspiring to do so. A…
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There has been much talk recently about whether people can be held accountable for violence if their words didn’t actually incite the violence, but created a climate of hatred and fear that fostered the violence. Hate speech is without question toxic. From a legal perspective, certainly they cannot be held responsible. However, are they morally…
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This I believe … believe in a child, and the child will believe in itself. Listen to a child, and you will be able to help solve its problems For 10 years, I tutored at-risk children one-on-one at a local elementary school in a small town in Michigan. These were children who were not…
