Everyone wants to be happy and to fulfill their dreams. For many who live in war zones, prisons, and places of poverty, those dreams aren’t likely to come true.
Culture Watch
Danny Duncan Collum 6-01-2006
For the next 54 years, Anne Braden was a solid citizen of 'the other America.'
Danny Duncan Collum 5-01-2006
In his landmark book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser reported that, in a global marketing survey, McDonald’s Golden Arches proved to be a more widely recognized symbol than the Christian cross. The arches are second worldwide, after the Olympic rings. The cross comes in third.
Of all the changes that struck American culture in the last quarter of the 20th century, the explosive growth of the fast-food industry would have to count as one of the most destructive. That’s a big claim. We’re talking about a period of history that saw the advent of music videos, infomercials, and call-waiting. But I’ll stand by it.
Foodways are among the most essential defining elements of any culture; in the past few decades, ours have changed almost beyond recognition. Twenty-first century America has, in large part, left behind regionally grown, home-prepared food for globalized, pre-packaged, sweetened, and fatty convenience stuff. Just as we’ve surrendered control of our free time, and even our inner consciousness, to the TV and advertising industry, we’ve turned over responsibility for much of our daily sustenance to a few transnational marketing corporations.
We are what they sell us. And, in exchange, the lords of the fast-food empire have promised to free us from cooking, dishwashing, and (at least briefly) from complaining children. The consequences of this bargain are written across our strip-malled landscape, our low-wage economy, and our increasingly bloated bodies.
Dee Dee Risher 4-01-2006
When the Sago mine explosion trapped 13 West Virginia miners 250 feet below ground in January, I was deep into Kettle Bottom, a stunning collection of poetry by Diane Gilliam Fisher that i
Danny Duncan Collum 4-01-2006
The 'Triple-A' music format comes with a nice fit, but only for a few.
Steve Thorngate 4-01-2006
A few years ago, the “postmodern memoir” or “autobiographic novel” was all the rage among critics anxious to define new literary genres.
Danny Duncan Collum 3-01-2006
If democracy is to be more than a slogan, everyone must have access to the Internet.
Molly Marsh 3-01-2006
Communities at Risk
“AIDS is born in the house of poverty,” an Indian health worker says on Making Ends Meet: AIDS and Poverty, a new resource from the Mennonite Central Committee. The 18-minute DVD looks at communities in India and South Africa and how AIDS is impacting the economies of each. The DVD includes additional interviews, a 25-minute story on church workers in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and other features. Excellent for Sunday school or study groups. www.mcc.org/aids
Clifton Kirkpatrick 3-01-2006
In the midst of my own responsibilities for leadership within the Presbyterian Church (USA), I seek to keep current with the literature on leadership and organizational management. Rarely have I found such an insightful—and deeply inspiring—book on this subject as Wesley Granberg-Michaelson’s Leadership From Inside Out.
Tom Montgomery-Fate 2-01-2006
The remarkable thing about Renny Golden’s writing is that it provides a bridge of understanding between a silenced, disenfranchised community and those who need to hear what that community
Lindsay Moseley 2-01-2006
Having witnessed the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, it may be hard to imagine anything comforting about a whirlwind. They remind us that we are small and fragile.