Provoketive

In this article, I take on Rick Perry’s “Strong” ad:

In every single sentence of Rick Perry’s “Strong” ad, he weaponizes his faith.  Not only that, Perry knows exactly what he’s doing.  He knows that there is a subset of the American population that thrives on the belief that LGBT people have an agenda and are out to destroy traditional values; that children are punished for praying; that President Obama is not only not a “real” Christian but actively wants to destroy religion (by which he means true Christianity, of course—who really cares about the Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and so forth). [continued]

This went up a couple of days ago and was circulated by Emergent Village (yeah!).  Here’s an excerpt, click the link to read the full text.

At the end of November, one of our local schools suffered a tragic loss.  A student died by suicide.  Although the people investigating have not officially stated whether bullying was involved, that was the conclusion reached by many of the student’s peers.  How sad that aggression in schools has progressed to the point that when a student ends her life, that is the first thing to come to mind. [more]

They answered God’s call to love their neighbors, quite literally.  They didn’t ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but “To whom can I be a neighbor?”…[read more]

Another post on Provoketive:

My husband is a teacher.  I appreciate that, because it gives me a window into the world of public education.  Recently, Dear Husband was looking for information on Diane Ravitch.  He came across an excellent speech she gave at Stanford University in August of 2010.  Our favorite moment is when she suggests that No Child Left Behind is a foolish endeavor.  She likens it to the federal government demanding that the police reduce crime to zero percent within 10 to 15 years.  If they are unsuccessful, police officers will be fired and police departments will be closed. [read more]

My latest on Provoketive:

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am heartily sick of trendy “masculine Christianity.”

As far as I can tell, the definition of masculine is culturally driven and narrowly defined.  I credit my favorite description of this to author James Howe in his YA novel Totally Joe: “Guy-guy.”  You know exactly what he means—the type of person who is, in one way or another, a shining example of what it means to be a real man.  Not just someone whose interests encompass home repair, cars, or video gaming, but someone who is considered undeniably male.  Anyone outside that has crossed the lines of what is healthy manhood into the dangerous waters of undefined gender roles. [more]