Category Archives: current events

Everything Not Forbidden Is Compulsory

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Boz

When I first passed this sign yesterday morning on the way to class, I thought it was an instruction in etiquette: “Don’t sit here because this is a table, and sitting on tables is rude.” Silly me.

Posted in Bill of Rights, books, COVID-19, critical thinking, current events, divisiveness, education, First Amendment, free speech, freedom, history, language, literature, news, novel coronavirus, politics, society, totalitarianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Common Cup

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Boz

This post has been germinating almost as long as we–human beings, Americans, North Carolinians, Christians, Episcopalians–have been altering the patterns of our lives and our relationships with one another and with God in response to the novel coronavirus. Other preoccupations, … Continue reading →

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The First Casualty?

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Boz

The question mark in my title was well and thoroughly considered. I actually have no idea which was the first of the constantly rising number of casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. But I am aware of many. And no, my title … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill of Rights, critical thinking, current events, etymology, First Amendment, free speech, freedom, nature, news, politics, religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sloganeering: Fake Language Is the Problem–Not Fake News

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Boz

I have not posted anything on my blog since September 21–over a month ago, my longest dry spell since I began it in May of 2016. Significantly, this hiatus coincides quite neatly with the weeks that have elapsed since the … Continue reading →

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Grammar, Meet God

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Boz

Although I care deeply about language and am passionately interested in its origins and characteristics, I have no claims as a linguist. Therefore, what follows comes more from my heart than my head–mostly emotion tempered with a bit of knowledge … Continue reading →

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Dear Jay and Gina: An Open Letter

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Boz

The five “increasingly savage paragraphs” of this obituary were published in the Redwood Falls [MN] Gazette on June 4. That same day, Stu @RandBallsStu posted it on Twitter. By the time I heard about it three days later on All Things Considered, it had … Continue reading →

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Yellow Fleas

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Boz

The end of Reconstruction in 1877 gave birth to the Solid South. In both Presidential and state politics, the South retained its essentially single-party identity until the passage of the Civil Right Act in 1964. During that time, Southerners would … Continue reading →

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Reconsidering the American Consensus–and Rehabilitating the 1950s

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Boz

The Mering thesis and the roots of consensus history At the University of Arizona in the mid-1970s, John V. Mering inculcated his disciples with a devotion to the consensus historiography whose bedrock was The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It … Continue reading →

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Love One Another–but Not on the Streets of Fayetteville NC

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Boz

I am writing this post during Holy Week, when Christians worldwide pray and fast and join together in humble worship as they prepare for the annual observation of the Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Today is Maundy Thursday, commemorated as … Continue reading →

Posted in current events, Lent, people, politics, religion | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pas Moi

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Boz

In a little over four months, the United States has turned into a Kafka novel. Amazingly, it was only on October 5 of last year that The New York Times broke its story of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and October 14 … Continue reading →

Posted in current events, politics, sexual harassment, sexuality | Tagged , , | 2 Comments