Time let me play and be / Golden in the mercy of his means
Tag Archives: children
Michael Vick and the problem with forgiveness
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has conditionally reinstated former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick, who was convicted of running a dogfighting ring in 2007. Vick served 23 months in federal prison, followed by two months of house arrest.
Last Thursday the Philadelphia Eagles answered the question as to which team would sign a convicted dog-killer (there were 32 possible answers to the question, and “none of the above” wasn’t one of them), and in doing so touched off a long-awaited PR war for the souls of their stunned fans. Read more
Jon & Kate: a sign of the times to come
If you’ve been off-planet for the last few months you may have missed the news: Jon & Kate have split, and in the process migrated from the relative banality of the TV listings over to the hyper-banality of the tabloids. I’m still not sure what the future holds for the popular “reality” show, but whatever it is, Gosselin family 2.0 equals Jon minus Kate.
It occurs to me that these events represent something significant in our culture. Since about 1980 or so we’ve been in one of our periodic “childrens is the most preciousest things in the whole wide world” phases. (For more on the generational cycles that produce this dynamic, see Generations, 13th Gen and Millennials Rising by William Howe and Neil Strauss, two men whose work I have referenced a number of times in the past.) In the previous generation (Gen X), children were an afterthought for most parents, who had been socialized in far more self-centric times. Read more
Let the economy die?! Rushkoff’s goals are noble but his plan needs work
A couple of weeks ago author and NYU media theory lecturer Douglas Rushkoff penned a provocative essay for Arthur Magazine. Entitled “Let It Die,” the essay explains why we should stop trying to save the economy.
In a perfect world, the stock market would decline another 70 or 80 percent along with the shuttering of about that fraction of our nation’s banks. Yes, unemployment would rise as hundreds of thousands of formerly well-paid brokers and bankers lost their jobs; but at least they would no longer be extracting wealth at our expense. They would need to be fed, but that would be a lot cheaper than keeping them in the luxurious conditions they’re enjoying now. Even Bernie Madoff costs us less in jail than he does on Park Avenue.
Alas, I’m not being sarcastic. Read more
The Catholic Church and Its Little Child-Rape Problem
Ummm, let me get this straight. The Vatican, having concluded that priests raping children is both a sin and a crime, is now wrestling with whether or not to institute a zero-tolerance policy for child rape? As opposed to what? All in favor of “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” raise your hands? Okay, now everybody that thinks we should pass out seven year-old boys as ordination gifts?
Check this, hot off the wires from CNN.com:
“U.S. cardinals said they will recommend a special process to dismiss any priest who has ‘become notorious and is guilty of the serial, predatory, sexual abuse of minors’.” Read more
lullaby pit 