Author Archives: Robin Bates

The Founders vs. Dostoyevsky’s Inquisitor

Christian nationalists have the same objections to democracy that Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor has to Christ’s vision.

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This Is the Time of Loves

As we are still in the Easter season, here’s a Christina Rossetti carol that captures the joy.

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Blake’s Warning about Radicals

While students are right to protest Israeli violence in Gaza, the authoritarian streak in certain extremists is disturbing. Blake reveals the danger in “The Grey Monk.”

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Milton’s Sin as a Symbol for the GOP

A “Paradise Lost” phrase, delivered by the character Sin, sums up today’s GOP.

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They Shoot Puppies, Don’t They?

Gov. Kristi Noem boasting of shooting her puppy brings to mind the tragic dog killing by Gabriel Oak in Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd.”

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Remembering My Eldest 24 Years Later

A Mary Oliver poem about grieving as I remember my eldest, who died 24 years ago on this day.

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Trumpian Darkness or True Light? Choose

Trump and many of his fans twist themselves in the perpetual torment of their resentment and anger. Henry Vaughan describes their state in “The World.”

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When Shepherds Fail Their Flocks

The Bible has multiple passages about shepherds who fail their sheep/ congregations. These two poems by Guite and Moss do the same.

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Would Willy Loman Be a Trump Supporter?

Donald Trump as Willy Loman? Well, both are dreamers. Only one of them, however, is cruel.

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