There’s something about celebrating the killing of someone, even a mass murderer, that leaves me queasy. Exploring the parallel I drew Monday between America and Sam Spade helps me get a better grip on the issue.
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Osama, Obama, and Sam Spade
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Dashiell Hammett, existentialism. Osama Bin Laden, Justice, Maltese Falcon, Terrorism Comments closed
When a Man’s Partner Is Killed . . .
What literary work does one turn to when justice is finally accomplished against the architect of of 9-11? Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Dish suggests the following quotation from Dashiel Hammet’s Maltese Falcon.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 9-11, Dashiell Hammett, Maltese Falcon. Terrorism, Osama Bin Laden Comments closed
Answer the Door, Child–Truth is Knocking
We had our major awards ceremony this past Saturday. As is tradition, we began with a poem by Lucille Clifton that she allowed us to adapt slightly for the occasion.Our president then gave one of his patented speeches, this one centered on Plato’s Meno. It was exactly what I wanted our students to hear: a full-blown defense of the liberal arts.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Light that came to lucille clifton", College, Education, Liberal Arts, Lucille Clifton, Meno, Plato, Socrates Comments closed
Dear Son, Far Off, My Lost Desire
I understand more with each passing year what Tennyson means when he says his love “is vaster passion now” and how Hallam is thoroughly mixed with God and nature. Tennyson goes on to say that the moral will of humankind—the “living will” that is the best part of ourselves as a people—can finding footing on this spiritual rock. And that the living water that springs from this rock will “flow through our deeds and make them pure.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, death of a child, Easter, In Memoriam, Julia Bates, Religion, Spirituality Comments closed
