Episodes
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
223: Torment As Tactic
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
Seems to me, our society collectively complains about how the quality of our discourse has devolved while also avoiding even talking about potential solutions. Some seem just as legalistically obsessed with the First Amendment being a hard-stop to even common-sense standards of decency as they, or perhaps others, are about the Second Amendment. Just as you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater where there is no fire or danger, you also cannot threaten to attack someone merely to silence their opinion or prevent them from raising their voice. Here we are, though, living in a society where harassment is accepted with a shrug and bullying is almost praised when it is an effective tactic. The situation is deplorable, but we have learned in recent years that using that particular term to denounce horrible misbehavior doesn't seem generate appropriate attention toward the problem.
I would humbly suggest that we have the tools, the technology, to address this issue. Despite our discomfort about law enforcement overreach and spying on citizens, it is possible to identify the people chasing families off their phones and out of their homes. The time is coming when such investigations may be crucial, if it is not already too late. I recommend prison time and heavy fines for the offenders, too. Unfortunately, it's hard to find better, more nuanced answers at this time. We are, after all, at the start of a national election year in the United States. Safe to say this situation is going to get worse before it gets better.
Different Drummer: Sarah Bessey
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
TalkBack 40: Other High Crimes
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
With the second Senate impeachment trial of my lifetime scheduled to start any day now, I've chosen to schedule this TalkBack episode in advance for future release. That's a risky move. Who knows what might happen between now and then? To me, that's one of the challenges of dealing with current events on a podcast intended to be more evergreen than the news of the day. And the impeachment covered in this podcast is more than 20 years old now!
http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/40-other-high-crimes/
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
TalkBack 15: Declaring War on 'Just Say No'
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
From an endgame perspective, the so-called "war on drugs" was never intended to generate the equivalent of permanent prisoners of war in the form of mass incarceration, but that is probably the true face of the political strategy that seemed to directly target my generation. The focus came after the Summer Of Love crowd, hitting instead the younger brothers, sisters, and cousins. It's hard to cite any wins because "Just Say No" as a campaign was far more about the image than the results, pure style over substance. Perhaps it was only about winning electoral strategies. I say this because I first had to resist this facile nonsense before I could commit myself to truly resisting any temptations to "experiment" with drugs.
Yes, "temptations" is plural. This issue was never so simple that "just say no" was credible advice. And that was just part of the problem that persists today. Other parts include the false equivocation about the relative dangers of different substances, and whether keeping people alive long enough to get the help they truly need was ever among the goals (hint: evidence suggests it was not).
http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/15-declaring-war-on-%e2%80%98just-say-no%e2%80%99/
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
222: Displeasure
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
To our shame, our society still tends to teach women to separate themselves from their sexuality, treating pleasure as something regrettable while looking the other way with a "boys will be boys" shrug about men pursuing pleasure. Even within committed relationships, this has unfortunate and unnecessary consequences. Wise women have spoken against this, and their counsel is well worth considering.
Different Drummer: Ruth K. Westheimer
Friday Jan 03, 2020
TalkBack 14: Sex Education the Protestant Way; Then, Not Now
Friday Jan 03, 2020
Friday Jan 03, 2020
Considering how prominent sex is on the logo for Inappropriate Conversations, I haven't touched that topic as often as I could. I may explore some reasons why in the next Inappropriate Conversations recording for #IC #222. We'll see. In the meantime, this past episode from 2010 provides valuable background information, recalling a time when the church taking sex education seriously did not have anything to do with protesting, banning, or undermining it.
http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/14-sex-education-the-protestant-way-then-not-now/
Happy 2020!