Tag: Politics
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All the Wrong Things
There once was a village nestled deep within the forest. It was a thriving community whose residents looked out for one another and took pride in their homeland. Brought together by a sense of shared identity, this village was a refuge for all types of people: artisans and merchants, hunters and farmers, poets and bards.…
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An Open Letter to Chuck Hockema
Dear Mr. Hockema, Congratulations on this week’s election victory, and welcome to the board of the Lafayette School Corporation. Although you don’t know me and I don’t know you, I commend your desire to support public education in our community. I firmly believe that our schools are some of our most important cultural institutions, and…
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Hold the Confetti
A younger version of myself would have been elated. In his eyes, this was a dream scenario, a climactic moment of ultimate victory on one of the key battlefields of the culture war for America’s soul. But the present version of myself couldn’t celebrate. I couldn’t even muster a half-hearted smile. When the Supreme Court…
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Sleeper Agents
Here’s a plot idea for an action-packed summer blockbuster: A quiet suburban housewife lives on a tree-lined street with her clean-cut husband and a pair of well-groomed kids. She drives a station wagon, attends the school PTA meetings, and occasionally bakes casseroles for her elderly neighbors. Anyone who drives past her house while she’s outside…
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Caravans and the Communal Conscience
They’re coming. It sounds like the tagline to a new action-horror movie. But no, it’s just another week in American political discourse. As thousands of soldiers are deployed to the southern border, the collective imagination of our country is gripped by the prospect of a coming invasion. The so-called “caravan” making its way through Mexico…
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Prayers and Politics
Unfortunately, this script is starting to become familiar. A mass shooting takes place. A group of grieved and angry people react by calling for stricter gun control laws. A second group of grieved and angry people react to the first group by admonishing them not to politicize a tragedy. The first group says, “Well, your…
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When You Feel Like a Tourist
Ben Gibbard is a brilliant songwriter. He does just about everything in his craft well. But perhaps what he does best is this: taking that vague, undefined emotion you’ve never quite been able to describe, and then describing it for you in a way that leaves you saying, “Yes! That’s it!” Pull a random Death…
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Why I’m Sad
I’ve spent the last 24 hours in a daze. At 9:56pm yesterday, I incredulously texted my wife on my way out of a meeting, “Trump might win this election.” That was when the New York Times had just updated their prediction, giving him a 51% chance to secure the presidency. But even then, I didn’t…
Drew Thomas Humphrey 