John Sisco was one of my communication professors in college. He was the last of a kind: very tough, demanding, often disgusted. His research agenda had included the bare-knuckle rhetoric of labor unions. He parsed ideas with precision and he didn’t suffer fools. His skin was leathery, his eyes piercing, and his authoritative baritone could … Continue reading Hash Browns, Hot Sauce, and the Rhetoric of Love
We discussed “call-out” and “cancel” culture in my communication ethics class last week. These days, when someone is found to have committed some wrongdoing (racism, homophobia, sexual assault, etc.), we take to social media to call them out publicly, or we summon the hostility of the masses and “cancel” them, or boycott them in some … Continue reading BLACKFACE THE NATION
I grew up believing I was created for something gigantic. “I don’t know what it is yet, but the Lord has a big plan for your life,” my mom would tell me when she prayed for me at night. I don’t think I’ve ever completely come to terms with how that affected me. I’ve always … Continue reading NO CONVICTION
My friend, Will, hosted an event at Urban Roots Farm last October – a small gathering of farmer-poets and songmakers, reading their words and singing their sounds. It was a crisp fall evening. The firepit was warm, the words were wise, and the honest sense of community was reminding me why we had returned to … Continue reading CHICKEN LITTLE, THE SKY IS FALLING, AND ME
I’m returning to the academic classroom this fall. Sorta. I’m teaching a graduate course in communication ethics at Drury University; and as I prep my syllabus and lectures, I’m trying to integrate some of the things I’ve learned from our time on the road listening to America. We met a lot of people out there … Continue reading THE BABY, THE BATHWATER, AND THE OVERTON WINDOW
Betsy grew up on the corner of Grand Street and Pickwick Avenue, in the Rountree Neighborhood: an eclectic, century-old, sidewalked, tree-canopied, university area in Springfield, Missouri. She lived there through college, until we were married in 1986. After a few years away, we ended up settling back in Rountree about 20 years ago. We befriended … Continue reading ROUNTREE HOME
I was at the gym early one morning, before heading to teach classes at the evangelical university where I was a tenured professor. There were some young guys grouped around the weight machines fretting aloud about meeting their “witnessing quotas” for the week. Apparently they attended some local bible school or seminary that was even … Continue reading THE WEIGHT
One of the ways I sort out who to vote for, after I've considered the policy issues and whether or not the candidate has raped or attempted to rape anyone, is I consider if I would leave my daughters in their care (if my children were still small and in need of care). Last week … Continue reading THE DAUGHTER TEST
I’ll be honest, sometimes I get into arguments with progressive friends about what the current political movement requires. There are well-meaning folks passionate about social justice who think things have gotten so bad, the lines have been so starkly drawn, that we have to fight fire with fire. We have to do the same things to … Continue reading THE WIND BENEATH OUR STRINGS
We met Nikki Patin around this time last year on Chicago's South Side. My friend Jin J. X had introduced us online. It was a lunch meeting at the Currency Exchange Cafe, which sits on Garfield Boulevard, next door to the Arts Incubator Gallery. Nikki works at the gallery as Community Arts Engagement Manager for the … Continue reading POETRY IN MOTION
