Category · 13 postsCulture and Diversity
All posts in the automatic “Culture and Diversity” category, newest first.
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September 1, 2016
Little Switzerland vs. Big USA
A news item about Switzerland denying citizenship to two Muslim girls who refused to take school-required swimming lessons because there would be boys in the…
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August 21, 2016
Some Thoughts About George F. Babbitt (June 19, 2015)
Originally published June 19, 2015 · republished 2016
My memory is not what it used to be and never was that good, so, when a FB friend asked if I have read Babbitt…
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August 14, 2016
Spain’s History of Tyranny, Tolerance, Tribute, and Territorial Struggles
Originally published 3/28/2012 · republished 2016
Originally posted 3/28/2012. Updated 7/28/2018 to include comments by the Montserrat Guide which were previously in a separate post. We just got back from a…
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August 13, 2016
JFK and Changing Times
I was a senior at Vanderbilt on November 22, 1963, the day of President Kennedy’s assassination. JFK had visited Nashville and spoken at Vanderbilt’s Dudley…
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August 4, 2016
Looking For a Few “Diverse People” (9/26/2010)
Originally published 9/26/2010 · republished 2016
I’m so far out of touch that I didn’t even realize sociologists had abandoned the idea of The United States as a “melting pot,” most…
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August 4, 2016
Language, Culture, and Mosque Difficulties (8/16/2010)
Originally published 8/16/2010 · republished 2016
(The difficulties have not improved since I wrote this six years ago.) I recall a conversation with my Japanese assistant during my early 1990’s Tokyo…
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July 21, 2016
Married Filing Jointly
The Federal Income Tax was established in 1913 by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, but it was not until 1930 that the Supreme Court…
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July 17, 2016
Richard John Neuhaus: Liberal Lutheran to Conservative Catholic (4/15/2015)
Originally published 4/15/2015 · republished 2016
A new biography, Richard John Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square by Randy Boyagoda, does quadruple duty. It provides a well-researched and documented critical look at…
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July 14, 2016
Self-Esteem, Sackcloth, and Ashes (1/22/2012)
Originally published 1/22/2012 · republished 2016
Channel surfing while on the elliptical machine in the gym yesterday I ran across a panel discussion from David Axelrod’s University of Chicago Institute of…
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July 14, 2016
I Know the USA, and the USA Is No Finland (2/14/2012)
Originally published 2/14/2012 · republished 2016
It is frustrating to hear people argue that the United States needs to do health care, education, social spending, etc., like Finland or other small…
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July 13, 2016
Laugh If You Are Able (2/1/2010)
Originally published 2/1/2010 · republished 2016
(First posted in 2010 when the PC movement was more of a curiosity than a religion.) A few months ago I attended a funeral at…
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July 1, 2016
Church and State, Christianity and Islam, Good News, Bad News, and No News (Posted 12/13/2014)
Originally published 12/13/2014 · republished 2016
This week (Daily Mail 7/3/2016) there is a report of the beheading of four teenage Christians in Iraq because of their refusal to convert to…
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June 23, 2016
Health Care Olympics – Norway vs. USA (Originally Published 8/28/2009)
Originally published 8/28/2009 · republished 2016
It is frustrating to hear simplistic comparisons such as, “Norway spends less on health care than we do and it’s all free there and they…
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