Democracy & the Emergence of the Investor-State
Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters. President Grover Cleveland, State of the Union Address, December 3, 1888 We live in a corporatized world. Most of us...
Thank You Librarians
Who would have guessed that unassuming librarians would be the inconspicuous defenders of free speech in the darkest days in US’ history. Thanks to their dedicated efforts and behind the scenes networking, Michael Moore was finally able to publish his book Stupid White Men.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
February 4th 2006 marked the 100th year anniversary of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A remarkable German theologian. Bonhoeffer was involved in several clandestine missions to help Jewish people escape Nazi Germany. He also participated in failed plots to overthrow and assassinate the Fuhrer. His unpatriotic actions led him to the gallows. He was executed on April 9th 1945. Only three weeks prior to the end of the war.
Significant Other
Our tribute to Simone de Beauvoir: An overdue acknowledgment of her contribution to philosophy. The contents of the latter were mostly credited to her celebrated life long companion, Jean-Paul Sartre. Her invaluable analysis of a devalued notion of the Other as an essential part in the expansion of Being.
The Da Vinci Code & Mary Magdalene
Thanks to Dan Brown’s book, the overshadowed heroine was brought back to the forefront, raising several controversial questions about her relationship with Jesus and her role in his ministry. The much talked about secret code of the Holy Grail is given a different spin. Especially in view that the Gospels are also literary works, revealing the importance played by the metaphor.
Corporatism
Similarities between the rise of Fascism in Italy and forays of US Corporations in the Capital, resulting in the creation of a new body politic. The subsequent advent of the consumer who has unceremoniously displaced the citizen as the pillar of Democracy.
Lady Di: A Media Consecrated Icon
In this essay we explore how the media has dislocated the legitimate role of religious institutions in providing traditional forms of religious experience to the masses.
Religio and American Civil Religion
With this essay we propose a reassessment of American civil religion developed by Robert N. Bellah. The recent Religious Right’s political activism has somewhat changed the landscape of American civil religion, inaugurating a state of religious and political exceptionalism, shattering the idea of a cultural and political inclusiveness inherent in civil religion. As a result of the changes, a reevaluation was deemed appropriate. To do so we examine Roman religio as a case study of civil religion.
President Obama Inaugural Speech and American Civil Religion
This essay is a follow-up to “Religio and American Civil Religion” in response to President Obama’s inaugural speech. The contents will reveal a continuity with traditional themes delivered by past Presidents. The speech also includes some departures that show a novel development in respect to typical tenets of American civil religion.