Unfortunately centrists and liberals have been endorsing Trump’s bellicosity abroad. Milton’s Jesus in “Paradise Regained” would not approve.
Monthly Archives: April 2017
Milton’s Jesus vs. Trump’s Bombs
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Afghanistan, bombing, Donald Trump, John Milton, North Korea, Paradise Regained, politics, Syria bombing, war fever Comments closed
Masters of Spite: Satan and Trump
Many wonder whether spite drives many of Donald Trump’s policy decisions. If so, he has good company in Milton’s Satan, who is defined by spite.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, John Milton, Paradise Lost, politics, revenge, spite Comments closed
A Trans Activist and a Poetic Judge
When forced to rule against transgender student Gavin Grimm because of a Trump administration directive, the sympathetic judge quoted a Naomi Shihab Nye poem. I examine the poem here and show why it is applicable to Gavin’s case.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Famous", Civil Rights, Gavin Grimm, Justice, Naomi Shihab Nye, Title IX, transgender rights Comments closed
Absent from This World, Alive in Another
As is traditional with this blog, we share a Mary Oliver poem about a magical encounter with a deer–which recalls Mary Magdalene’s magical encounter with Jesus in the garden.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Picking Blueberries, Easter, Mary Magdalene, Mary Oliver, touching the divine Comments closed
A Poem in Favor of Taxation
Edward Guest’s poem in favor of taxes. Think of paying them as your patriotic duty.
O Christ Who Drives the Furrow Straight
John Masefield’s poem “Everlasting Mercy” (1911) uses powerful fertility image to capture the spirit of Christian redemption in this Good Friday poem.
Rakunks & Wolvogs & Pigoons, Oh My!
As gene splicing becomes more common, we need novels like Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” to point out the dangers. By making connections, good dystopian fiction serves to wakes us up.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged disease, genetic splicing, genetics, Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, Science Comments closed
Sleeping Bears?! What Would Papa Say?
The GOP’s decision to allow the hunting of hibernating bears and denned wolf cubs raises issues of wannabe machismo that one can find in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, hunting, machismo, Short HappyLife of Francis Macomber, wildlife protection laws Comments closed
On Toddlers, Terrorists, and Loaded Guns
Among the ways that Donald Trump is repaying the NRA for its support is reversing an Obama executive decision designed to keep guns out of the hands of mentally handicapped persons. Hilaire Belloc would have something to say about America’s casual acceptance of guns.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Algernon Who Played with a Loaded Gun", Donald Trump, gun control, gun deaths, Hilaire Belloc, NRA Comments closed
