Now that we have officially elected an elitist as president, I can finally come out of the closet. Although close friends and family have known for years that I am an elitist, I guess it is time to announce myself publicly. It seems that people are enjoying casting stones at both the president and others who value education, the arts, and other elitist values — such as speaking in full… Read More »A Mind is A Terrible Thing to Waste
I was in Quiznos the other day (the only place I go for what could be called “fast food”) and the owner, who is an acquaintance of mine, introduced me to a new employee and we got onto the subject of dating—don’t ask, you know how women talk in circles—and the woman expressed discouragement because the men she met were only interested in One Thing. I said “So what?” Which… Read More »Men and the One Thing Thing
I had this admittedly crazy idea to fly up north and fly with my mother back down to my small Virginia town so that she could spend a couple of days with me, see my teenaged daughter whom she hasn’t seen since this summer when we went up to celebrate her 80th birthday, see my 21-year-old son whom she hasn’t seen in a few years, and do a small pre-… Read More »My Mother Has Already Forgotten Thanksgiving
In the middle of the last century, stories were told of poets in the then USSR commanding audiences of tens of thousands for readings. America was astounded. Poetry? Not rock and roll? Granted, the Soviet Union backed those poets and rock stars were, of course, not allowed to tour. But, I think it is apocryphal. People will gather any time there is something interesting to see. The news media’s continuing… Read More »Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain
The fact that the American public elected a president in George Bush that they thought might not be any smarter than they were (and bragged about it with his C average at Yale) and that they thought it might be fun to go out for a beer with (were he still drinking, which he is not) means that we (although not me, as I did not vote for him either… Read More »How About Electing A Creative Thinker President?
Anti-Semitism has been a fact of my life for its entirety, from the first time, at age 5 or 6 I was told I was going to hell because I did not believe in Jesus, to the countless times I was called a “stupid Jew,” a kike, a baby killer, and a host of other names; from the time when, after the tent revivals rolled into town and everyone got… Read More »Funny, You Don’t LOOK Jewish!
It has been widely reported that liberals are more pessimistic than conservatives. Although I am not sure I buy the research I certainly fall into the liberal progressive pessimist category when it comes to the political process and the American public’s ability to read and think, seriously, about both the candidates and the issues. Because we don’t, most of us. We don’t read much. We certainly read little that challenges… Read More »Yes, We Are Stupid, Rick Shenkman