“The immigrants’ purpose was transcendentally civilized, but they came to a wilderness.”
—Harold Kaplan, Democratic Humanism and American Literature
Our political situation looks bad, but there is literally nothing of substance behind it. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Whenever the establishment gets in a bind it creates distractions. Well, currently its behavior is the official version of stomping its feet, roaring, and waving its arms around. It’s really quite astonishing to see grown men and women behaving this way. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
I have been increasingly astonished … Read the rest
In Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’ there is a section on Ecological Conversion. This section was written to encourage Christians to start thinking of their relationship to the world, to ecology and to the environment in a new way. Francis aims to encourage a new spirituality that can sustain us. In that spirit, Fr Peter Knox SJ is offering a Lenten lecture series on ecological conversion. This article is a summary of the first lecture … Read the rest
Our environmental problems are the result of 200 years of industrialization. The philosophical and technological developments that enabled the Industrial Revolution were made possible by the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was not only independent of the Catholic Church, it opposed the authority of the Church. Therefore, the Church is in a unique position to publish a document like Laudato Si’. Environmental areas of concern form a natural connection between Laudato Si’ and Progressivism. … Read the rest
I supported Bernie Sanders for president largely because of his support of family farms against the abuses of agribusiness. I believe agricultural policy and food security should be at the center of our plan for the future. It should be an urgent priority because we have a large global population and dwindling resources. However, agricultural policy in the United States is not concerned with a quality life for farmers, promoting food security, or encouraging the … Read the rest
When Recep Tayyip Erdogan defends Gaza, he is one of the few leaders in the Middle East to openly criticize Benjamin Netanyahu for his callous bombing campaign. In addition to providing hope for Gaza in her ongoing trial, Erdogan also reminds us that the Levant has seen better times. Palestine was under Turkish rule for four hundred years prior to the days of the British Mandate of Palestine. Apparently, Erdogan has not forgotten this long-lost child of … Read the rest
Reading Time: 2 minutesJair Bolsonaro of Brazil is one of the men who have stepped up to bristle and bar their teeth at the new sane direction the world is heading. If saying outrageous things and playing the media were enough to make things go his way he would have already won, but now he feels his hold on power slipping away. To drive his point home (his point of being the boss) he doesn’t hesitate to do real … Read the rest
Reading Time: 6 minutesI recently said that the words of those who criticize Laudato Si’ have no substance. Now I’ll try to be more specific. Laudato Si’ is a rebuke of current practices, including agribusiness, but it is not the only warning voice. In this post, agribusiness meets reality.
The human population will reach 9 billion people by 2050, even if we manage to slow the birthrate. The world has never had this many people before. We have to … Read the rest