Circuit Writer

Howard Zinn, the controversial author of A People’s History of the United States, passed away at the age of 87.  A historian who admitted that he never intended to write a complete or objective history of our nation, he challenged the idea that there is one story that defines the United States.  Growing from an initial publishing run of 5,000, A People’s History went on to sell over 1 million copies, become a textbook in high school and college history courses, and launch a series of publications that would remind us all to listen for the voices that are often never heard.

The remainder of this post includes excerpts from his obituary at the New York Times.  Godspeed, Professor Zinn. continue reading…

This is my latest column for The Tahlequah Christian for the week of January 24-30.

We’ve all watched and listened in horror to the unbelievable destruction in Haiti. Granting that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake is a devastating force, we should all be asking the question as to why the estimated death toll has skyrocketed to over 100,000 dead with countless other injuries. The greatest tragedy in Haiti has not been the earthquake itself, but the absolute lack of basic government services to support the population and insure safe living conditions for the people. This is a byproduct of rampant political instability in the country, an irony considering that it is one of the oldest republics in the Americas, gaining its independence in 1804 (that’s just 21 years after our recognized independence in 1783), and we seem to believe that democracy is the answer to any country’s political woes. continue reading…

This is an intriguing read from the God’s Politics blog at the Sojourners website.  I throw it out here as food for thought.

It’s wild how easily we get sidetracked from Holy days by holidays, and how quickly we can smother our central identity in Christ with other identities such as our national identity.  The Fourth of July is one of those holidays that is a little tricky for those of us who are Christian, these peculiar people of God whose kingdom is “not of this world.”  While we want to celebrate the many freedoms and opportunities we have in these United States, we also want to be people that are honest about history, who lament the places where our country and government and founding fathers have fallen short of God’s Dream. .. so without being a real prude or “anti-American” stick-in-the-mud, we want to try to remember the history of this country well on July 4 (and every day) — the good and the bad.  That doesn’t mean we can’t have some serious fun on July 4.  We might as well take advantage of the chance to be with neighbors and family, to have work off and play in fire hydrants (at least on my block).  But above all, we want to remember that our deepest allegiance and identity run deeper than nation.  And that may take some creativity to remember with all the fireworks popping and national anthems playing.

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