Sticks and stones may break my bones But words will never hurt me. There’s power in little ditties such as these. They have such cultural currency that we typically don’t stop to wonder whether or not they’re true. In fact, we may not even notice if they’re linguistically nonsensical or patently insulting. The pot should […]
Sticks and Stones and Words as Weapons Read More »
The last time I worried about vampires was when I was about eleven years old. Of all of the shape-shifting monsters, vampires were the scariest because they could creep in through the creaks and crevices of your house as a barely discernible mist. They could also be deceptively charming and beautiful before they sucked the
Not All Vampires Live in Transylvania or Texas or . . . Read More »
Two Black women walked through a door. If that sentence sounds like a setup, it is. But it’s not a setup for a joke, nor is it the beginning of a “once upon a time” fable. It’s the prologue to the vicious and toxic reality of right now. Claudine Gay, the former president of Harvard University, walked
Two Black Women Walk Through a Door Read More »
By Way of Prologue Anyone wanting an easy listening overview of a city’s attractions knows exactly what to do: climb aboard a climate-controlled tour bus. For the price of a ticket and minimal mental effort, you get to sit back, relax, and get an infotainment version of local history. Those were the likely expectations
Try to imagine this scenario. You walk into your home and see that it has been plundered by burglars. You even know who the burglars are; after all, they have ransacked your home and stolen your property many times before. Since you know who the burglars are and how they operate, you decide that it’s
“Sir, Can We Talk About Your Knee on My Neck?” Read More »
I was once again honored to join the community of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington, in their virtual pulpit this past Mother’s Day. Thank you to Senior Minister Reverend Mary Ann Macklin for her warm and welcoming invitation. The holiday, Mother’s Day, as a ritual of recognition, elicits a wide range of emotions as
Why bother? Why even try? Given a cultural climate, these are not unreasonable questions. Increasingly, they are asked by professionals in health care, environmental justice, education and clinical services. This asking perhaps signals the onset of heartbreak, or may be attempts to stave off relational vulnerability and despair. They reveal the fragility of good intentions
Is there a woman anywhere who hasn’t heard: “the older you get, the more you become like your mother”? Typically, these words are intended as a warning or an indictment, not a compliment. How then do we explain that annual rite of spring, committed to exorbitant displays of devotion and no small investment of dollars
Family Matters (with a little help from mother-wit) Read More »
Fear moves in mystifying ways. Although we hardly ever call it by name, it is deeply insinuated in our stories of reality. One such story is captured in Mississippi Burning, a movie about the FBI investigation of the murder of civil rights activists. The scene I have in mind starts with a conversation between two
Awakening from the Trance of Fear (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope for 2018) Read More »
Part of the legacy of growing up in a scripture-rich environment is that I sometimes find myself totally captivated by a vivid image. As I was reflecting on the past year, it was this image that came to mind: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, and we wept when we remembered
By the Waters of Babylon (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope) Read More »
