Dearest Rachel – There are days when you hear me complaining about a lack of topics to talk to you about. Maybe nothing particularly notable happened (or is expected to happen) that day to fill you in on, or I’ve just crammed my head with a few hours of mindless entertainment while the boys hangContinue reading “Topics You’re Not to Talk About”
Tag Archives: politics
“Get Them the ––– Outta There!”
Dearest Rachel – Most of the time, dreams come to one more or less unbidden; none of us can say what may have prompted them, if anything. Last night’s, however, may well have been birthed by a letter I received, and promptly discarded. Not that it was telling me to go back and retrieve theContinue reading ““Get Them the ––– Outta There!””
Politics and the Public Sphere
Dearest Rachel – You know, I really thought I had weaned myself off of my political news feed over the past week and a half. What Internet I could get over in Israel was, to be frank, less than reliable, so its main purpose was to be used to assemble and send my updates toContinue reading “Politics and the Public Sphere”
The Point of Power
Dearest Rachel – As soon as I wrote it out, it occurred to me that someone might read the title and assume it was something like the Five Point Palm technique from Kill Bill or some such. And while I understand that something along these lines actually exists among certain aboriginal tribes in Australia –Continue reading “The Point of Power”
He Steals for Us
Dearest Rachel – I’m sure I really should be focusing on our preparations for our flight out tomorrow evening to Israel, but my mind is preoccupied with other things at the moment. Sure, there are personal things that I need to attend to, but today, the events of the world at large – or atContinue reading “He Steals for Us”
One’s Soul For One’s Country
Dearest Rachel – When one thinks of things one would be willing to sacrifice one’s life for, thoughts tend to run toward the things one loves. If there is to be anything worth dying for, it would be (ironically) the things that make life worth living. Possessions rarely fall into that category, although some thingsContinue reading “One’s Soul For One’s Country”
The Curtain Can’t Come Down Soon Enough
Dearest Rachel – In a different context, you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m about to break my promise to myself and you about keeping politics to a minimum with a title like that – it’s the sort of sentiment anyone with our belief system (or even dealing with the struggling economy) has to beContinue reading “The Curtain Can’t Come Down Soon Enough”
Primary Concerns
Just remember when you step into your voting boothHe’ll never lie, he’ll just ‘embellish the truth’ Steve Taylor, “Whatever Happened to Sin?” from I Want to Be a Clone (1982) Dearest Rachel – It’s that time again. No, it’s time to spin the Wheel of Amorality, otherwise known as ‘our civic duty,’ or, more toContinue reading “Primary Concerns”
Fig Tree & Vineyard
Dearest Rachel – I know, I know; the title sounds like some cheerful little English pub: “Don’t wait up for me, luv, I’m off to the Figtree & Vineyard for a couple pints and a round a’darts with me mates. Be home when I’ve ’ad enough.” Not the sort of thing you’d ever expect –Continue reading “Fig Tree & Vineyard”
Nowhere Near “In Control”
Dearest Rachel – After drifting through a dream in which I could control the flow of events much like the art director from “Duck Amuck” (although rather more violently, as one of the individuals in this dream Twitter video was chucking grenades at whoever was filming it, and I was simply pausing the video toContinue reading “Nowhere Near “In Control””
We Give Time Significance
Dearest Rachel – These days, it seems that you have to have a sense of humor to deal with what’s happening in the world each day. A sick sense of gallows humor, to be sure – probably along the lines of someone who would be an expert at Cards Against Humanity or something like thatContinue reading “We Give Time Significance”
My Fate in Dream
Dearest Rachel – Well, that was disconcerting… and downright terrifying in its plausibility, to a certain extent. What’s particularly strange is how calm –almost indifferent – I was to my own fate. The dream effectively started with my applying for a renewed drivers license (although, to be sure, the place didn’t look a lot likeContinue reading “My Fate in Dream”
Are These ‘My’ People? Am I ‘Theirs’?
Dearest Rachel – So, last night was spent online with the group of VIP chatters from PJMedia. It’s another of my many efforts to kickstart a social life, now that mine no longer revolves around you, what with you being gone and all that. The strange thing is, I didn’t get involved in it forContinue reading “Are These ‘My’ People? Am I ‘Theirs’?”
Mouse Trap
Dearest Rachel – As if politics weren’t meaningless to you where you are, I feel the need to talk with you this morning about our portfolio. Believe me, I get that this is literally of no value to you, but it’s been keeping me awake at night from time to time. And it’s not evenContinue reading “Mouse Trap”
Instant Regret
Dearest Rachel – I’m guessing this has something to do with yesterday’s letter, combined with having watched a couple of speed runs of Cuphead last night. It’s the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that’s why I would have a dream about the governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut throwingContinue reading “Instant Regret”
Distance and Silence
Dearest Rachel – Sunday mornings are a challenge for me these days. Well, every morning is a bit of a challenge, but the weekend is particularly difficult. While I think I’m starting to get accustomed to the fact that the bed – and the room – are empty apart from myself, and you’re not goingContinue reading “Distance and Silence”
Before Going South
Dearest Rachel – I’ve already recently bemoaned the fact that, despite every intention to avoid discussing it, politics informs more of my life – and everybody’s, for that matter – than I’d like it to. We are shaped by the circumstances around us, regardless of how much we might insist otherwise. Our impression of GodContinue reading “Before Going South”
You’re Going With That?
Dearest Rachel – You know that I try to avoid politics in these letters if I can; we always understood each other and our political positions (although I couldn’t help but be amused as you and Daniel changed position around me during that last year and a half, taking me from being the most conservativeContinue reading “You’re Going With That?”
Biden My Time
Dearest Rachel – I’m sure that you wouldn’t approve, I don’t feel like there’s anything I can do about it. Now that the house has been thoroughly cleaned out, there are so many more rooms Daniel and I can use. And use them we do; except it means that we’re rarely in the same roomContinue reading “Biden My Time”
Small Steps in the Morning
Dearest Rachel – I know I touch on the topic from time to time, but for the most part, I’m loathe to talk about politics in my letters to you. To be sure, that wasn’t always the case when you were around; like with my dad at the dinner table, I enjoyed sparring with youContinue reading “Small Steps in the Morning”
from Rachel: Stuck in Conflict
“Peace is not found in winning or avoiding conflict, but in rightly handling conflict. “1. Start with love.” Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. Philippians 4:1, English Standard Bible “Verse 4:1 is easy to pass over too quickly to getContinue reading “from Rachel: Stuck in Conflict”
Not in the Night Soil Business
Dearest Rachel – Leave it to the Victorians to come up with such a quaint and pleasant-sounding term for a decidedly unpleasant job dealing with decidedly unpleasant material. In the days before indoor plumbing was common, human waste was removed from the privies and cesspools of urban dwellings and transported out of the city byContinue reading “Not in the Night Soil Business”
Letters to Rachel 