Episodes
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
124: Harder-core Than Thou
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
It is possible, from recent shows, that my tastes in music seem a bit soft. I've spoken about easy listening (The Ink Spots) and Christian music (Chris Rice) at some length lately. Truth is, my tastes vary wildly. Most people think they have a broad taste in music; typically, that means broadly within a genre. I cut both across and deep, with examples here that don't include any jazz (Anthony Braxton, for example), and at a length that had to skip things as obvious as Sepultura or Metallica and as niche as JFA (Jodie Foster's Army) and Laurie Anderson. Speaking of Anderson, here is her perspective: "So, sit bold, upright, in that straight-back chair. Button that top button. And get set for some difficult music ... ooh la ..." indeed. Different Drummer: Henry Rollins
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
106: The Violence Of Denial
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
We may hesitate to conclude that it's an act of violence to deny that someone exists or that he or she is real. So much damage has been done, though, by denying that people are who they say they are and their rights can be compromised as a result. This may be a quiet violence, but it cuts to the very core of what "human" even means in the context of human rights. Evangelical Christianity has been increasingly guilty of this during the past five decades, and I call out a podcast that I've praised in the past as a frustrating example. Different Drummer: Harvey Milk Human Sexuality Is Complicated
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
104: Whoever Says The Truth (Shall Die)
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
Lore of the United States' "founding fathers" is that they were brave, creative thinkers who were not afraid to discuss ideas and both learn from and break with the past to create a new vision of the future. So why are our current leaders so frightened? At election time, both Republican and Democrat candidates seem to be fearful about the future, their past, and anything resembling "truth." Above all, they are afraid of independent political thought and 3rd parties -- meaning, non-RepubliCrats. Different Drummer: Pier Paulo Pasolini
Tuesday Oct 25, 2011
72: Truth or Consequences for Christians
Tuesday Oct 25, 2011
Tuesday Oct 25, 2011
Most pro-life apologists have an issue with Judith Jarvis Thomson's position in "A Defense Of Abortion." Of course! They have come to opposite conclusions about one of the most divisive issues of our time. My quarrel with a number of those apologists has nothing to do with abortion rights or the lives of unborn children. No, my problem is with dishonesty, made worse since it comes from people who purport to stand up for "truth." Different Drummer: Os Guinness
Wednesday Sep 21, 2011
69: Reasons Not to Trust Our ‘Pure’ View of Puritans
Wednesday Sep 21, 2011
Wednesday Sep 21, 2011
Most emphasis on "the good old days" is about comparing the current state of society to a time when moral values were stronger and centered on the traditional family structure. The problem is that those longing looks to the past are full of self-deception. Even The Puritans, who are often held up as an extreme example, were not what society has said they were. Premarital pregnancy, open discussions in church meetings about sexual behavior, and even second-trimester abortion were not at all out of place then. I'll bet you didn't learn that in American History class. Different Drummer: Thomas Paine
Wednesday Jun 15, 2011
60: Ten Areas of Agreement about Abortion - part 2
Wednesday Jun 15, 2011
Wednesday Jun 15, 2011
6) America could not provide adoptive homes for more than a million children per year over limitless successive years. 7) After agreeing to pay a clinic several hundred dollars, a woman does not need an extra day of waiting to decide if she is doing the right thing. 8 ) Most Americans do not know the names and telephone numbers of more than 30,000 women, and certainly none can name that many new acquaintances for each calendar year. 9) If doctors never study or practice the abortion procedure, then an emergency abortion to save the life or health of a pregnant woman is less likely to be safe and free from complications. 10) If a person threatens the life or welfare of a man's wife, most of us would understand the man's decision to kill this assailant -- even if we wouldn't take that same action ourselves for moral reasons. Different Drummer: Aristotle
Sunday May 08, 2011
55: A Better Way to Debate
Sunday May 08, 2011
Sunday May 08, 2011
Most debate you hear today is about winning/losing and not about resolving questions and finding answers that will move society forward. All of us lose when arguments are presented in this manner. Instead, we need to listen better, speak more clearly and often at greater length, and live up to higher standards. Guidelines include: granting opponents as much ground as possible, holding ourselves and others to the integrity of stated positions, and striving to find "the rest of the argument." Different Drummer: Dwight MacDonald Dan Carlin's Common Sense 194: State Of The Union (particularly 33:00 - 55:35)