Guest Post by Mark D. Schwartz [NOTE: Submitted as a comment, I thought this piece merited wider discussion. The views expressed here are his own, but I welcome their articulation.] We’re Used to Politicians Stealing from Us. Now They are Killing Us: So, Where is the Outrage of the 1960s? Starting college in the early … Continue reading Politicians Just used to Steal from Us. Now They’re Killing Us Too
The eleven authors in the new book, “Passing the Torch” were invited to draw on their several centuries of living and Quaker experience to offer “Advices,” informal counsel for readers. A few made lists. Others wove such insights into their texts. Others left this part of the work implicit. Here are some selections from these … Continue reading Some “Advices” for Quakers & Others from “Passing the Torch”
Souperist practices, reported at the time, included serving meat soups on Fridays – which Catholics were forbidden by their faith from consuming, and by the fact that they could not afford meat in the first place.
Soupers were frequently ostracised by their own community, and were strongly denounced from the pulpit by the Catholic priesthood. On occasion, soupers had to be protected by British soldiers from other Catholics.
Watching Spike Lee’s new film BlackkKlansman yesterday, it was evident that the director/provocateur has skillfully exploited a current of widespread cultural anxiety, which the Klan once embodied on a mass scale. The cinematic result is a timely, skillful and often gripping entertainment. As a call to social action, however, I think it largely misfires. In organizational terms, … Continue reading Spike Lee vs the Klan; and When (Many) Quakers also Loved the Klan
William Bartram: Divergent Friend I’ve taken a fancy to do some traveling for the dog Days this year. I plan to join William Bartram, an independent-minded Quaker naturalist and artist, in a journey through much of the southeast U.S. This is not the Southeast of today, but that of 1773, so technically there wasn’t a … Continue reading Dog Days Reading for Summer Reflection: Wandering With A Divergent Friend