No, this moment in history is not normal. We live in a time of crisis that revolves around political and geographic fragmentation, a loss of faith in institutions, an enormous wealth gap between the rich and the poor, and under the constant influence of social media and its monitoring and algorithms. We’ve seen this before […]
There have been quite a few videos and articles (and studies) floating around that are trying to make the point that Covid-19 is not very deadly. They are along the lines of “you have more chances of being eaten to death by koala bears than dying of Covid-19. Of course, these go viral and are […]
Since I love all things ‘80s and never actually left the decade, I am creating my list of the most iconic, defining pop songs between 1980 and 1989. It’s my blog and I can do what I want. And it’s helping me stall from doing the exercise and work I am supposed to do today. […]
A friend of mine asked if China-style Socialism can be implemented in the U.S.A.? Since we are going to be hearing a lot about “America becoming socialist” this week, I thought I would put my answer here. “Socialism” is too broad of a word. Every democracy has a healthy mix of Capitalist and Socialist […]
WHEN CHRISTIAN RESPOND TO BLACK LIVES MATTER with “all lives matter,” “God doesn’t see color,” “Let’s just preach love;” ”let’s not throw stones” and then cite some Scripture, I am sure they mean well, but it’s hurtful, and I think they are missing at least three important things: 1) RACISM AND PREJUDICE IS A […]
It is well known that the evangelical church struggles in Europe. On a continent where the evangelical population can be as low as 0.25% (Greece) and where 4% overall church attendance is considered good (Germany); many evangelical churches find themselves struggling to maintain churches with more than 20 committed people. The northern protestant countries such as England, […]
At the end of the Cold War in 1991, it looked as though democracy had conquered the world. The 1990’s brought a wave of new nations throwing off regimes and authoritarianism and moving toward having free elections. Particularly across Africa and Latin America, genuinely free elections also led to a wave of pro-globalization, free-enterprise leaders […]
It may seem that Iran and the USA have nothing in common; hence their global stand-off which has the world’s attention. But as I think about it today, there are some interesting parallels between Iran and the USA: *Both have leaders that claim to represent the country’s dominant religion. *Both leaders have religious followers that […]
A survivor of a Japanese internment camp, the first person to cross the Atlantic in a kayak, and a para-glider that jumped off of Mt. Everest in a massive snow-storm; none of these people or things have anything to do with Patrick Nachtigall, yet he has the shameless audacity to write his personal memoirs. Rarely […]
My latest article on why the political debate about “Capitalism” vs. “Socialism” is wrong, useless, and dangerously distracting. We’re at a crisis-point and need more sophisticated, nuanced discussions about economic success in the highly-competitive 21st Century. On my last couple of visits to the USA, I have been shocked by how many people I met […]