Happy May Day … [Read more...]
More or Less: Some Insights from Aristotle
April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Jeff Shinabarger's More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity reminded me of two philosophers, Aristotle and Peter Singer and how they addressed the idea of generosity. Today, I want to focus on Aristotle. Aristotle Aristotle directly addresses the idea of generosity in his Ethics. Generosity is a virtue for Aristotle and as such it is the middle point between a deficiency and an excess. Both the deficiency and the excess, in this case, are vices. The key to generosity for … [Read more...]
They Might Be Giants “Your Racist Friend”
April 26, 2013 By 1 Comment
I have long loved They Might Be Giants. The song "Your Racist Friend" is my favorite song, partially because experiences in life often (sadly) remind me of the narrative in the song. Today, I was remind of this song by comments #12 and #13 on this thread. Holy Crap! … [Read more...]
Thomas Pogge on Studying Under John Rawls
April 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
John Rawls is my hero, but I never met him. So, I love hearing personal experiences like that of Thomas Pogge. And to think...I have been accused of hero worship. :) Source: The Carnegie Council's Ethics Matters Series. I tend to side more with Pogge on the idea of global justice than I do Rawls. However, as Pogge mentions, many ideas about global justice, including the amazing work of Pogge himself, have been directly influenced by the Rawlsian concept of justice. … [Read more...]
LDS Church Supports Move to Include Gay Scouts
April 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a statement in support of the shift by the Boy Scouts of America that will allow gay Scouts to fully participate within the Scout program. I want to share part of that statement: "While the Church has not launched any campaign either to effect or prevent a policy change we have followed the discussion and are satisfied that BSA has made a thoughtful, good-faith effort to address issues that, as they have said, remain 'among the most … [Read more...]
Politics, Camping, and McDonald’s: Happy Birthday to Todd
April 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Todd, my oldest child, turns 13 today. Todd is my thinker. When I am trying to get him to make a decision, his thinking can drive me crazy. Todd is also an observer. He wants to know what is going on around him. In the mornings, when I drove him to school, Todd and I would listen to NPR's Morning Edition together. He would just suck up the information. During the 2012 GOP Presidential Primary it drove him crazy that they were constantly focusing on the Republicans. At the same time, he … [Read more...]
Feeling Connected
April 24, 2013 By 1 Comment
Each morning I take a bus to the metro, then a short metro ride to work. Each morning I get on the bus, put on my headphones, or open my ipad to listen or read whatever book I am reading. As I do this I notice this seems to be what everyone else is pretty much doing as well. There is seldom anyone talking or really even noticing one another. This pattern is pretty consistent with public transportation commuting, at least around the DC metro region. This had got me thinking a little while ago, … [Read more...]
Community of Christ and the Liberal Mormon
April 23, 2013 By 18 Comments
With the announcement that the National Conference of the Community of Christ has recommended expanding marriage to include gay and lesbian couples, I have spent the last day reflecting on something that I have thought a lot about for the the last few years: What does the Community of Christ mean to somebody like me, a Mormon who is politically, theologically, and philosophically liberal? In this case, by Mormon I mean a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the … [Read more...]
Community of Christ Extends Marriage to Same-Sex Couples
April 22, 2013 By 1 Comment
In their National Conference held April 19-21, The Community of Christ (formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) moved to extend marriage to same-sex couples. The specific recommendations of the Conference to the Community of Christ First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are as follows: The 2013 USA National Conference recommends the sacrament of marriage be extended, where legal in the USA, to persons of the same sex/gender. Thus the 2013 USA National … [Read more...]
“Half the Sky will either change you completely or it will reinforce your passion …” A Review by Andrea Radke-Moss . #sjbc
April 19, 2013 By 4 Comments
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Knopf, 2009 and Vintage, 2010) was on my reading list after I watched a portion of the documentary on TV (worthy of its own review). I was also drawn to it out of my own feelings of frustration and passion. As someone who has recently been following and even engaged in feminist discussions of expanding the roles of women in patriarchal religious communities, I am struck by how firmly … [Read more...]
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