My un-American Democratic Party

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Imagine you’ve got a Muslim neighbor who is actually a radical, but hasn’t yet revealed to you his inner radical thoughts. He may seem like a nice family-oriented, hard-working, reliable guy, but then at a barbecue he tells his private view that the “worldwide Jewish movement” is the embodiment of evil, and that Israel must be destroyed. One moment you think he’s a reasonably normal guy, and a moment later you realize he lives in a very dark world. Still, there he is, smiling at you while he flips a burger and offers you another cold soda. That’s what it felt like for me recently to read a quote by the French ambassador to Britain. According to Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post, the ambassador said Israel was a “[expletive] little country … why should the world be in danger of World War III because of those people?” With this as the sentiment of a major ambassador from a major Western country, could a global betrayal of Israel be far off? Indeed, a European Commission … Continue Reading

The miracle of the Bible

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I’ve been a writer for many years, working on all kinds of projects from screenplays to corporate speeches to playwriting to academic essays to journalism and commentary. As a former English teacher, I’ve read all kinds of writing but never anything that comes even close to the Bible. In fact, as I will explain from a writer’s perspective, the Bible is not possible. And yet, ironically, this amazing book is taken for granted. Most Americans have at least one Bible in their home. Most don’t read it, or don’t read it very much. In all likelihood that means you, or someone you know. Strangely, polls have shown that a huge percentage of Americans believe the Bible is the word of God but don’t have time to read it. No kidding. Either we must think God has nothing to say to us, or something else is going on. First off, be assured I am not going to ask you to become a Bible scholar. I am not going to ask you to take umpteen Bible study … Continue Reading

‘Killer Culture’: A call to the churches

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“Often there’s a kind of official and systematic ‘rebelliousness’ that’s reflected in media products pitched at kids. It’s part of the official rock video world view, it’s part of the official advertising world view, that your parents are creeps, teachers are nerds and idiots, authority figures are laughable, nobody can really understand kids except the corporate sponsor. That huge authority has, interestingly enough, emerged as the sort of tacit superhero of consumer culture. That’s the coolest entity of all.” – New York University Communications Professor Mark Crispin-Miller, on PBS’ Frontline documentary, “Merchants of Cool” “My students were talking to me about the parties that they were having on weekends. And there was one place in particular where they had lots of privacy – the parents were often gone. They said that they were watching the Playboy Channel in the girl’s bedroom. There would be like 10 or 12 of them up there. And so I said, well, is everybody watching it? Oh yeah, they’re all watching it – and so one of the little guys … Continue Reading