culture
300 pieces tagged “culture”, newest first.
Masculinity: Being a Man in a 'Pajama Boy' Age
Our culture has dumbed down and feminized men for decades.
Ten Stories That Fired Up America in 2015
It was a year filled with micro-aggressions and gender neutral pronouns. Bruce became Caitlyn. Black Lives Mattered. And the Baby Jesus got banned. The Greatest Generation has given way to the Perpetually Offended Generation — young Americans who suffer epic meltdowns at the mere hint of criticism. Young Americans who feel entitled to take what you earned. This past year we covered the stories the mainstream media ignored, giving a voice to the folks President Obama once called bitter – those of us who cling to our guns and our religion.
Nostalgia Ain't What It Used to Be
When Christmas arrived at our household, a time of great joy and celebration, of course, all thoughts of politics, culture and the frequent nastiness of things in general were put aside. Naturally, this was an occasion to immerse oneself into a sugar-plums-dancing-in-your-ears, Jack-Frost-roasting-on-an-open-fire, Hillary-free day, to be enjoyed by everyone in our family, ranging in age from seven months to seven decades or so. Christmas music hummed in the background, red and green lights twinkled everywhere, peels of laughter and mirth rippled through the air, a ninety-pound black Labrador imitated a lap dog, trying out one lap after another — things didn't get better than that. Until, that is, the first present was opened, in this case, by one of the grandchildren.
Cultural Winners and Losers of 2015
ABC News devoted a fluffy two-hour special to the year in review, studying the news and pop culture. They had a "Dishonor Roll" segment where they mocked the adultery of Josh Duggar and the scandal of the adultery website Ashley Madison when its client list leaked. They scorned the dentist that shot Cecil the Lion, white activist Rachel Dolezal pretending to be black, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kim Richards getting arrested for shoplifting, and pop singer Ariana Grande caught on video licking donuts. But nowhere in this summary were the grisly tapes exposing Planned Parenthood for its effort to profit from selling the organs of babies it killed in its abortion clinics.
The Death of Gratitude
The Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero insisted that gratitude was "the parent of all the other virtues." Cicero did not define gratitude as Mafia-like loyalty or mutual back-scratching. He was not referring to a pop socialism where all supposedly owe their successes to the government. Instead, gratitude is proof of humility and offers perspective. It is an appreciation for others, often now dead, who have helped to make us what we are. Without it, we are narcissists and self-absorbed amnesiacs.
Garrett Swasey's Final Sermon
Garrett Swasey stood before the worshipers at Hope Chapel, the nondenominational, evangelical Colorado Springs church where he was an elder. He reminded them, in a 50-minute sermon that was by turns humorous, gentle, and earnest, that life is short and time is running out for all of us. He recalled Douglas MacArthur's admonition that in wartime the cause of failure can usually be summarized in two words: "too late." He urged them not to make the mistake of thinking that there will be plenty of time later to do the right thing.
It Was Not Always So
Two weeks ago, a man began firing shots in a parking lot in Colorado Springs. He moved into a Planned Parenthood facility. Eventually captured, it turns out the man is a lunatic. He lived in a trailer with no running water or electricity. He had a history of violent behavior and crazy theories about the world. But according to the American political left, the man was clearly a Christian pro-life activist.
Three Cheers for Cultural Appropriation
For seven years, the Center for Students with Disabilities at the University of Ottawa has sponsored free on-campus yoga classes, a popular program taught by a professional yoga teacher from the city's Rama Lotus Yoga Centre. To the reasonable among us, free yoga for special-needs students may sound innocuous and gentle. But not to the vigilantes of political correctness, who successfully pressured the university's student government to suspend the classes as an intolerable instance of "cultural appropriation."