When an Arabic-speaking Muslim friend saw Mel Gibson’s movie Passion of the Christ with most of the dialogue in Aramaic, he was very surprised that he did not need most of the subtitles in English to understand the movie! This connection is a critical bridge builder: sister languages, the Arabic, and the Aramaic, the written language which was … [Read more...]
The Linguistic Relationship between the Aramaic of Jesus and the Arabic of the Qur’an
July 14, 2010 by 4 Comments
Is Forced Democracy the Answer?
July 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Much of our recent foreign policy is guided by the notion that spreading democracy will naturally result in a state of peace, and respect for basic human rights. While seeking peace and human rights are notable and essential goals, the idea of using force to set up a system claiming to foster true freedom is a farce. Let me tell you a … [Read more...]
What Does it Mean to Be “American?”
July 8, 2010 by 7 Comments
Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann once accused Barack Obama of holding positions that are "anti-American" (and she was not the first). What did she mean? In order to define what it means to be "anti-American" we should define what it means to be "American" and use examples from history to see if our judgment is fair or even … [Read more...]
Things You Don’t Talk About In Polite Company
June 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
In 2002 President George W. Bush said, “The public education system . . . is where children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic opportunistic society.” At first blush this is just a gaffe, Freudian in my opinion. But there is much that is more of … [Read more...]
The Dangers of Sociopathic Patriotism
June 11, 2010 by 1 Comment
One of the greatest challenges of our time is developing the ability to cut through the deliberate distortion and propagandizing of current events in order to see the world as it really is. A prime example would be the ongoing conflict in Gaza where openly lamenting the loss of innocent life is a sure invitation for hysterical charges of … [Read more...]
Beyond the Vote, Part 4: The Big Decision
June 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is part 4 of a 4-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Read Part 3 Here The answer to these questions is for citizens to begin to study and think a lot more about government and to stop ignoring freedom by leaving it to the political professionals. Unless regular people realize that freedom is up to them, not the experts, … [Read more...]
Beyond the Vote, Part 3: Responses to Being Patronized
June 2, 2010 by 1 Comment
This is part 3 of a 4-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Read Part 4 Here When a few citizens realize that they are being “handled” by the professionals of their party, the first response is naturally to want to elect better party leaders. When time shows that this doesn’t work -- that in fact it is the nature of party … [Read more...]
Beyond the Vote, Part 2: The End of History
June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is part 2 of a 4-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 3 Here Read Part 4 Here Francis Fukayama predicted in the 1990s that with the fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War this conflict between the rich and poor nations was over; he called this “the end of history,” citing both Hegel and Marx. In the ensuing model of … [Read more...]
Beyond the Vote, Part 1: Keynesianism
May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is part 1 of a 4-part article. Read Part 2 Read Part 3 Here Read Part 4 Here Imagine what would happen if a huge chunk of citizens stopped accepting what they are told by one of the parties, stopped just aligning themselves with candidates from one of the monopoly parties, and started deeply studying, analyzing and thinking about the … [Read more...]
The 8 Facets of Freedom, Part 5: The Freedom Tribe
May 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is part 5 of a 5-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Read Part 3 Here Read Part 4 Here Our nation and world desperately needs a Party of Freedom. Such a party would not be an official political party, since its goal would be to unite and build rather than to win or govern. It would be made up of everyone who believes … [Read more...]
