Category: History & Culture
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Neither Jew nor Greek: The Church and the Civil Rights Movement
I appreciate Kimberly Horton allowing me to publish her very interesting paper on various Christian denominations’ responses to the Civil Rights Movement. It’s an area I had not previously given much thought to, but as you will see, it’s an area where the view of the church and Christian charity towards equal rights for African…
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Twenty Years Can’t Shake the American Out of Me
I’ve in Asia for most of the last 20+ years. But an incident last week made me realize that I am still very much an American. It has to do with space. Not outer space. Personal space. I like it. Don’t encroach on me or I might act rudely. Here’s what happened: I was at…
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“Demagogue!” “Dangerous Egotist!” – No, This Isn’t About Trump
This person was called a “demagogue” and a “dangerous egotist.” Let’s get out our Google dictionary to get a good definition of demagogue: a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. Does that sound like anyone in the US 2016 presidential race? How about…
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Top Episodes of the Cold War
We’re making a video series on the Cold War in one of my classes: Cold War Episodes, Season 1. Here’s the outline. How is this for covering the Cold War? Any suggestions? Episode 1: The Iron Curtain is Coming An examination of post-WWII Europe including Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech. Episode 2: Salvation from the Sky …
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Most Claims of “Radical!” Are Empty Words
In this highly politicized world, the term “radical” seems to be applied to more and more people, which is, by the day, shrinking the “sane, non-radical” middle. But that really isn’t the case at all. The term radical is being mis-applied is so many circumstances that it has become a commonplace label in order to…
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Sorry. These are not examples of racism.
I came across two very different articles today which broached the issues of race. The first one was about Harry Potter actress Katie Leung saying that taxis drivers sometimes compliments her for her good English. (She was born in Scotland, by the way.) The second one was about Hillary Clinton saying Republicans use “coded racial…
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Students who get upset about yoga should learn a thing or two about cultural change.
For students trying to seem so culturally aware and intellectual, they are completely clueless. Check out this article: Ottawa College Bans Yoga I completely agree with the following article. Article on Cultural Appropriation Okay, so where are we at on this topic? These are lessons I teach my ninth-graders. Culture changes. You can’t stop it,…
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Poignant Quote from JFK for The 2016 Election
“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” John F. Kennedy Hmmm. Now put this quote into the context of the 2016 US Presidential Election. Hard to do,…
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My White Face Opens Doors
I was reading earlier in the week that several people have been pondering the meaning of the word “expat” and why the definition of expat seems to include only white westerners who are living in a foreign country, while everyone else would be referred to as immigrants. As an expat myself for much of the…
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Iowa: It’s Finally Here. Let’s Get This Thing Over With!
As the Iowa caucus kicks off the primary season for the US 2016 presidential election, it is, perhaps, a good time for the people to breathe and realize that the end is in sight – even if ten grueling months into the future! Hasn’t this already felt like the longest presidential campaign in history, even…
Author Mark W Sasse 