social commentary

  • I’m Not Hiding

    I’m Not Hiding

    I read something recently that said LGBTQ+ people are going to start going back into the closet. I’m not sure how that is even possible once that door has been opened. It is true that in some ways we come out every time we meet someone new or find ourselves in a new situation. I…

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  • Quite Passive, Not Thinking

    What do you suppose Christopher Isherwood meant when he wrote these words? “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” The beginning is easy enough to understand, and it is the part most often remembered. I am a camera. Isherwood was a writer observing the world around him, recording the…

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  • Democratic Socialism vs. Social Democracy

    You know I believe in research. You know I believe in not jumping to conclusions. And you know I believe that in order to understand our country, we need to educate ourselves about it. Right now, America is having an argument about socialism when much of what we’re actually arguing about is social democracy. And…

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  • You Were Never Broken

    You Were Never Broken

    Can you imagine being a kid, going to church, doing your best to be good, and then hearing something that changes your world? The very thing you were born to be, they are saying, is unholy. That you are unholy. You go to school, so happy to make friends, and that’s when you’re called “fag”…

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  • The Man Behind the Microphone

    I’ve spent most of my life behind microphones and in front of cameras. In many ways, it is where I feel most comfortable because it was what I was trained to do. Broadcasting. Debate. Theater. Public speaking. Years of learning timing, rhythm, presence, and how to hold the attention of a room. I actually prefer…

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  • Coordinating the Impossible

    You know what aggravates me? I mean, can I talk openly with you all without someone going off the deep end because they accidentally recognize themselves in what I’m about to say? I hope so because you know me. I’m going to say it anyway, and preferably before my coffee gets cold. I’m tired of…

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  • Before They Said It Out Loud

    Did you ever want to say to someone: “You can invent whatever little stories or excuses you need to tell yourself and other people. But in the end, this comes down to one simple truth. You’re a homophobe. And deep down, you know it. What’s more important is that I know it. And I always…

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  • Nothing Else Should Matter

    Nothing Else Should Matter— Steven A. LaChance How did we learn to live like this,in a world that leans so easily toward hate? Where did it begin,this quiet beliefthat we are somehow betterthan the person standing beside us,to the right,to the left,close enough to touchbut kept at a distanceby nothing more than an idea. What…

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  • Nuclear War?

    Nuclear War?

    These past few weeks have started to feel a lot like growing up all over again. That quiet rhythm of war in the background, the constant awareness that something bigger could happen, the thought of nuclear war just sitting there while we go about our daily lives. It gets into your head if you let…

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  • Good Friday

    Good Friday

    I have been thinking about Good Friday. Not just as a day on a calendar, but as a moment that changed the course of the world and history in a way that is hard to fully take in. It is often told quickly, moved through on the way to something else. But when you slow…

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