THAT’S GREAT, IT STARTS WITH AN EARTHQUAKE*, or, How the Pandemic Took My Already Fractured Mental Health and Broke Me

It was a snowy evening in early February, 2003, and I was angry at Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was delivering his now-infamous address to the U.N. Security Council, providing the justification for military action in Iraq, and I was yelling at the TV. Because the speech was bullshit. We later learned much of … Continue reading THAT’S GREAT, IT STARTS WITH AN EARTHQUAKE*, or, How the Pandemic Took My Already Fractured Mental Health and Broke Me

SEES THE DAY

We exist in a world where our social and political institutions are at risk of collapse, family members turning against each other, communities facing violent outbreaks over elections, pandemic safety precautions, financial instability, racial injustice, etc. In this climate of division and polarization – over nearly every issue imaginable – I’ve been giving a great … Continue reading SEES THE DAY

WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES

I’ve been thinking about us this week, what we’re learning about ourselves and where we go from here. Pluralizing Whitman – “Do we contradict ourselves? Very well then we contradict ourselves, (we are large, we contain multitudes.)” – I’ve grappled with the extraordinary capability we humans have for ignorance and wisdom, cruelty and grace.  Those contradictions seem particularly … Continue reading WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES

A YEAR OF VANLIFE AND THE RHETORIC OF CIVILITY

This is a version of the remarks I delivered to the Rhetoric and Communication Theory Division of the Texas Speech Communication Association Convention this morning: I was talking to my friend Kaston last night. Kaston lives in Nashville. He’s a songwriter and plays in a band called My Politic. I told him I was “going” to … Continue reading A YEAR OF VANLIFE AND THE RHETORIC OF CIVILITY