Inappropriate Conversations

With a strong Biblical foundation, I have a theory that most prayers at public events like high school football games or graduation ceremonies have more to do with the speaker than God. If you only bow your head to follow a spoken prayer led by someone on a public address system, are you really genuinely praying? I believe prayer is much more than that. Different Drummer: Andy Partridge

Every four years when all the election talk about "character" starts running wild, I get a reminder that in some ways I'm the ideal candidate for president. If you are only ticking off items on a checklist, what do we value most in a president?  I have my own reasons for thinking that I am not the best person for the office. Top of that list: I believe in telling people the truth. Different Drummer: Todd Snider

America functions with a careful balance on a couple of ideas. One is majority rule. The other is checks/balances on power. Controls are in place specifically to prevent oppression of minority groups.  Always get suspicious when you hear someone complain about "the will of the majority" being thwarted. Does such a majority know what it's like to be on the other side?  I don't believe we've advanced as far in race relations as some Americans might suggest. Different Drummer: Carlton Douglas Ridenhour

America wastes an amazing amount of time arguing about "liberal" versus "conservative" as if those represent a meaningful range. Far from being the entire political spectrum, it's not even a slice of a pie-chart that must be understood if we intend to advance as a society. Different Drummer: Jello Biafra

What does it mean to give up something for Lent? It's a Christian concept about preparing for Easter. That idea is consistent with adding the right type of thing as well, as an act of devotion. One of those Lenten undertakings from my past includes a part of a short story that could be titled "The Least Of These." The sermon within that story addresses themes in the heavy metal song "Godless" and indirectly asks a question: why not give up hate for Lent? Different Drummer: Stephanie Davis

March 20th is World Storytelling Day with the theme of Light and Shadow. Do we bring antagonists out of the shadow and into the light? Or, as a song by The Offspring discussed in its lyrics, do we "keep 'em separated"? Gangs don’t find peace by drawing boundaries; instead, those lines set the time and place for violence. Less overtly, when large parts of our society engage in quiet violence – denial of one another’s “right to exist” – it stops us from becoming the people we are all meant to be. Different Drummer: Gordon Gano