In the early 1990s, Benjamin Barber wrote a prescient book, entitled "Jihad vs. McWorld." In it, he predicted that the defining conflict of the twenty-first century would be between globalization and tribalism; between commercial, capitalistic interdependence and insular, isolationist communities that view global capitalism and its accompanying secularism as overwhelming threats to their cultural and religious beliefs. What Barber failed to note was that this same conflict is taking place within the United States. How else do we understand Judge Roy Moore’s efforts to post the Ten Commandments, the continual attempts to make public school students pray, or the yearly calls for government-sponsored creches at Christmas?
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Author Archives: Sheila
Lessons Unlearned
America’s attention is focused on Iraq these days, so the Bush Administration’s recent announcement that it plans to privatize 800,000 federal jobs, beginning with air traffic controllers, got very little attention.
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The Government We Deserve
There is an old saying to the effect that people get the government they deserve. I used to believe that–before the current administration took office. Now I’m not so sure.
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Religious War & Peace
Let’s stipulate, as we lawyer types like to say, that the General has the right to his opinions, to his religious beliefs, and for that matter, to his evident adolescence. But as a soldier, he has a duty to respect the military chain of command. I didn?t hear Congressman Pence or others protective of Boykin rising to defend the soldiers in Iraq who were chastised for complaining that the Pentagon had lied to them about the length of their tours of duty.
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Out From Under the Rocks
As the local readers of this column know, I also write a twice-monthly column for the Indianapolis Star, devoted to civil liberties and public policy issues. From time to time, I use that forum to comment on issues involving sexual orientation, civil rights, the recent Texas sodomy case, and most recently, the Massachusetts marriage decision. Whenever homosexuality is the subject, I can expect lots of negative responses–more often than not, anonymous.
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