Category: Popular Culture
Building Bridges: A Muslim and Non-Muslim Dialogue about Islamophobia in America, Part 2
…And we’re back with the second part of our dialogue about President-elect Trump’s proposed Muslim policies. You can read Part 1 here. Q4: How do you feel about Trump’s call for Mosque surveil... Read More
Thanksgiving in the Time of Trump
I’ve been reading a lot of Bonhoeffer lately. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor and theologian who spoke out against Hitler, joined the Nazi resistance, and was ultimately executed by ... Read More
Muslims in the Media – and What I’m Going to Do About It
“A free press earned its spot in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because of its role in educating and enlightening citizens, and thus enabling us to practice self-government. But char... Read More
Careful Forgiveness: Atoning with Life in the New Year
“Let us forget with generosity those who cannot love us.” Pablo Neruda Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of atonement between humanity and the divine. Jewish tradition dictates that atonement between h... Read More
The Life of a Gorilla
By all accounts Harambe was a likeable fellow getting ready to start an exciting phase of his life in a new home. Born on May 27, 1999 in Brownsville, Texas, he had just celebrated his 17th birthday w... Read More
(-ish)(-less)(-ness)(-loathing): The Self/Soul and The Insidiousness of Mass Violence
I remember, over a decade ago, the first time I encountered the Wiccan Rede. Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will I thought that made sense; felt, somehow, that for all... Read More
Traversing Tradition(s) – Diversity in American Judaism
We, American Jews, have a problem. We are often unwilling or unable to see the tremendous diversity of our own community. The truth is: Jews come in all shapes, sizes and colors. There are Jews of eve... Read More
Purim and Holy Saturday: Waiting On the World to Change
When John Mayer’s hit single “Waiting On the World to Change” first hit the radio waves, I would refuse to listen to it. My self-assured high school-aged smugness thought that this... Read More