Dear Supreme Court Justices of the United States of America,
I consider myself to be a pretty average American mother of a typical American family. My husband and I are married and live in a small town in the Midwest. We have two small boys ages three and one. Both my husband and I have college degrees and we work outside the home.… [Read more]
The proponents of illiberality and oppression often peddle their own warped definitions of equality. For them, segregation was an egalitarian institution – prohibiting women’s voting rights was just an extension of treating the inherently unequal sexes appropriately, according to their own potential abilities.
But as we all realize today, segregation in any form and/or the denying of individual rights is never truly an equal enterprise, no matter how much social conservatives may pontificate on their outdated and morally backward views.… [Read more]
The other day, I listened to a priest talk about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. As he spoke, I started to think about what it really means to be a Christian and a human being in America today.
By no means am I a religious person, but the philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth has always been one of my guiding lights.… [Read more]
Our culture and our time blind us all to some extent—some more than others, yet no one is exempt. Often we assume that the ways things are now and in this particular culture is how humans have always behaved throughout the globe. Many speak as if humans always organized within and understood the concept of centralized nation-states, that capitalism was always the dominant economic societal structure, that marriage was always a romantic relationship between a consenting adult male and a consenting adult woman.… [Read more]
Let’s face it; the past few months have been bad for conservatives and Republicans. After a fairly good shellacking in the Presidential and Senatorial elections last November, which many pundits didn’t even see coming, Republicans have good reason to be retrospective. The recent election postmortem by the Republican National Committee underscores the sober reality that the Republican band is damaged from excessively rounding “an ideological cul-de-sac.” This has led the GOP’s to lose influence among many, including minorities, women, young adults, and the gay community (while still doing well in the “old white guy” demographic). … [Read more]
With Christmas behind us and a new year about to begin, we are drawn to reflect on the events of the year just passed. Overwhelmingly, we have been accosted with news of more tragedies than we should have to endure, and some days it has been difficult to find the bright spots in it all. I wanted to wrap up the year here with a list to remind us that 2012 was more than just a year of rapidly escalating protests, political upheaval, and tragic gun violence.… [Read more]
Last Saturday, we had the honor of witnessing a milestone for our military and a victory for the LGBTQ community. Brenda Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate and her partner, Penelope Gnesin, were wed in the Cadet Chapel at West Point Military Academy, a first for the school. We can be proud to add this same-sex wedding ceremony to the growing list of victories and accomplishments for the LGBTQ community, and also to the list of improvements in the military’s views on “non-traditional” members.… [Read more]
My Beef with Chick-fil-A
Today is my early day. Ideally, I’d go home to drop off my things, and head to the Chick-fil-A on Exit 13 – it’s my favorite location. The nuggets there are always fresh, waffle fries are always crisp, and when I order a ‘half and half, more tea than lemonade,’ they make it perfectly every time. … [Read more]
Being a Southerner in a major city has made me acutely aware of what I appreciate about my heritage, and those qualities I loathe about it. When I moved to the DC metro area 5 years ago, folks knew immediately that I wasn’t from around here. I learned quickly that the ease of my smile was welcomed precisely because warmth is an unfamiliar character trait around these parts.… [Read more]
