Politics & Society

On Thug Parents, Thug Generals, and Their Cannon Fodder

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That a military judge, Denise Lind, would even have to consider a charge against American hero and truth-teller, Bradley Manning, that Manning “aided the enemy” speaks volumes about the warped institution that claims to defend our country from foreign enemies, even as it has become a collective expert in creating new enemies for the American people. Often overlooked, however, in discussions on PFC Manning and our current military enlistment system are the warped American parents who push their adult children into the Sparta subculture called the U.S. military.

Christianity

Bishop Katharine: Seeing the Divine in All People

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In May, Bishop Katharine—the first presiding woman bishop in the Anglican Community—gave a sermon so provocative that it led critics on the Christian right to charge her with possession by the devil. I think that much of the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to the ordination of women comes from a deep-seated fear of content like Bishop Katharine’s: human life-affirming and focused on the kingdom of God.

Politics & Society

On This Historic Day, Hope for True Love and True Marriage

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On this day when the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and paved the way for same-sex marriage equality in the nation’s largest state—a state, like many others, brimming with undocumented immigrants from NAFTA-ravaged Mexico—I can’t help but wonder if we might really begin the process of redefining marriage, and well beyond the right-wing definition of redefinition: namely, turning the age-old institution that has its roots in patriarchy and proto-rapism, and has never fully unshackled the chains, into a spring of human freedom grounded into universal brotherly and sisterly love.

Politics & Society

Beyond a Reactive, Piecemeal Approach to Military Atrocities, Sexual and Otherwise

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As a frustrated Senator Gillibrand and her congressional colleagues try to bring greater transparency to the epidemic of sexual assault in the military with utterly piecemeal approaches, we need to set our sights on a far higher goal: disincentivizing wholly amoral men in our society – who have no inner qualms whatsoever with getting paid to make war – from joining the U.S. military in the very first place; amoral men, it must be said, who possess the sheer temerity to constantly assert that they love our country.

Politics & Society

Aaron Swartz and Other Victims of Government Persecution

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That so many are honoring Aaron Swartz, and recognizing his noble aims for a more open society, is a heartening testament that at least some of us still believe there’s more to citizenship than showing up to the train platform at the right time. Yet the question must be asked: What about the victims of government persecution who aren’t so sympathetic?

Politics & Society

Pfc. Manning: A Soldier Who Gets It

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By providing a bay window for the American people into the ugly realities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Pfc. Manning has given us an opportunity to reform and evolve a U.S. military culture into one that prizes the sanctity of all human life – not one that merely seeks to minimize “collateral damage.”

GMP

Lingering Questions on Obama’s Handling of the Iran Standoff

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Before the next round of negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff are held in Moscow, those of us who are praying for a peaceful outcome- including the 3000-plus signers of the March 6 New York Times ad developed by the Network of Spiritual Progressives opposing any first strike or path to war with Iran- would do well to keep our eyes peeled not only on what may or may not be achieved by the West to avoid war, but how. Most rational people want to avoid a shooting war with Iran at all costs. Yet with President Obama at the helm, the prevention of such a shooting war has been documented by New York Times reporter David Sanger as pulling the American people into a dangerous cyber war that has never been publicly debated. Furthermore, if one believes the accusations leveled against President Obama by former U.N Ambassador John Bolton, preventing a shooting war with Iran also requires kicking Israel in the teeth every now and then to blunt its plans for a preemptive strike. In April, Bolton made an astonishing accusation against President Obama: that his administration has orchestrated a series of media leaks intended to undermine Israel’s military plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.