Posts

The Religious Right isn’t Pro-life
The Left has done a great service to the Religious Right. For decades, we’ve allowed them to write our story for us. We have let them define themselves and to

Teenage Boys, This is How to Be a “Real Man”
Dear Teenage Boys, These are already difficult times, for you I know. I understand how confusing it can be to wake up every day, with all the changes inside and

Here’s Why You Can’t Give Up Now
Yesterday I decided I was through fighting. I was finished pushing back and speaking up and showing up and going on. I concluded that it was all too exhausting and

Confessions of a Proud Beta Male
Today, a Trump supporter called me a “beta male.” I was on social media, expressing my respect for survivors of sexual assault and women who’ve been subjected to the mansplaining

To Trump Supporters, Decency is Divisive
“You’re being divisive.” Trump supporter, I imagine you think I haven’t heard this. I have. I’m really familiar with the playbook by now. This is the go-to refrain by you

To the Young Men and Women of America, From the GOP
(Warning: The following may be triggering for survivors of abuse.) To Young Men and Women of America, Have you heard us? Is our message getting through? We’ve been talking to

Why I Believe Her
(Warning: May be triggering to survivors of violence.) Christine Blasey Ford is an opportunist. This has been the Republican refrain ever since the professor and mother of two came forward

Jesus Was a Social Justice Warrior
Recently a group of Evangelical church leaders released a document called The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, which has since been electronically co-signed by 7,000 clergy members through America.

Facing Hurricanes or ICE Raids
I was sickened tonight, listening to the stories of the many people living in my home state of North Carolina, who refuse to evacuate areas threatened by Hurricane Florence; not

On 9/11 We Said We’d ‘Never Forget.’ We’ve Forgotten.
Horrible days don’t usually start out as horrible days. As we woke up and went to work and got the kids off to school or got in our cars here

The World is Better With You in It (Don’t Leave)
The world is better with you in it. I know you may not believe that right now, but it’s true. Since the moment you showed up here you have altered

I’m an American—and I’m Lost in America
I confess that I’m a little lost, presently. Lately I’ve become a restless, reluctant nomad. I am a lifelong American, who is profoundly disoriented trying to navigate this nation now.

Colin Kaepernick Was Right About Us
Colin Kaepernick was right about us, white America. He was right to kneel because when he did, he fully exposed us. He exposed us as we became viscerally disgusted, not

We Can’t Let Decency Die
When decency dies, all good people should grieve. Whenever someone of character leaves this planet, the rest of us should mourn that loss, because the attrition leaves us all worse

Christian, Stop Blaming God for Your LGBTQ-Hatred
Every day I meet professed Christians treating LGBTQ people like garbage and trying to convince me that God is making them. You can always tell when people of faith want

The Moral Confusion of MAGA Christians
Christians supporting Donald Trump are the most morally confused people I’ve ever met. They are profoundly spiritually disoriented. Though their disorientation began much earlier in the Presidential campaign, as day

We Could Really Use a President Right Now
America could really use a President right now. I have this thought more often than I care to consider. I have it again today. As the funeral for Senator John

The World Needs Some Good News. Give it Some.
I’m getting sick of bad news. More accurately, I’m getting sick from bad news. I don’t mean figuratively sick, either—I mean that it is making me physically ill. I wake

I Grew Up in the Catholic Church. Its Abuses Aren’t Surprising.
Note: The following article may be triggering for abuse survivors. I grew up in the Catholic Church, attending Catholic School for the first 9 years of my educational life. Though

White People, You Can’t Be Both Woke and Silent
In my travels around this country lately, I meet lots of white progressives who fancy themselves woke. They feel this way, because they’re now aware (perhaps for the first time)

Message to a Transgender Teenager
This week reminded how terrifying people can be. It reminded my how close and ugly the monsters are. An Oklahoma middle school shut down after explicit and violent threats on

Christians Supporting Trump Aren’t Christians
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” — Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride, The first Christians didn’t call themselves Christians. It

If I Could Make Non-Voters Care
Yesterday I came across a report about Idaho’s June primary, trumpeting the state’s greatest voter turnout in nearly two decades. I was encouraged. Then I read it. I became sad.

Red Hats and White Hoods
Bigotry has always done more damage in the shadows, below the surface, and beneath a disguise. It actually helps you when it shows itself; when it brazenly parades uncovered through

The Religious Right isn’t Pro-life
The Left has done a great service to the Religious Right. For decades, we’ve allowed them to write our story for us. We have let them define themselves and to

Teenage Boys, This is How to Be a “Real Man”
Dear Teenage Boys, These are already difficult times, for you I know. I understand how confusing it can be to wake up every day, with all the changes inside and

Here’s Why You Can’t Give Up Now
Yesterday I decided I was through fighting. I was finished pushing back and speaking up and showing up and going on. I concluded that it was all too exhausting and

Confessions of a Proud Beta Male
Today, a Trump supporter called me a “beta male.” I was on social media, expressing my respect for survivors of sexual assault and women who’ve been subjected to the mansplaining

To Trump Supporters, Decency is Divisive
“You’re being divisive.” Trump supporter, I imagine you think I haven’t heard this. I have. I’m really familiar with the playbook by now. This is the go-to refrain by you

To the Young Men and Women of America, From the GOP
(Warning: The following may be triggering for survivors of abuse.) To Young Men and Women of America, Have you heard us? Is our message getting through? We’ve been talking to

Why I Believe Her
(Warning: May be triggering to survivors of violence.) Christine Blasey Ford is an opportunist. This has been the Republican refrain ever since the professor and mother of two came forward

Jesus Was a Social Justice Warrior
Recently a group of Evangelical church leaders released a document called The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, which has since been electronically co-signed by 7,000 clergy members through America.

Facing Hurricanes or ICE Raids
I was sickened tonight, listening to the stories of the many people living in my home state of North Carolina, who refuse to evacuate areas threatened by Hurricane Florence; not

On 9/11 We Said We’d ‘Never Forget.’ We’ve Forgotten.
Horrible days don’t usually start out as horrible days. As we woke up and went to work and got the kids off to school or got in our cars here

The World is Better With You in It (Don’t Leave)
The world is better with you in it. I know you may not believe that right now, but it’s true. Since the moment you showed up here you have altered

I’m an American—and I’m Lost in America
I confess that I’m a little lost, presently. Lately I’ve become a restless, reluctant nomad. I am a lifelong American, who is profoundly disoriented trying to navigate this nation now.

Colin Kaepernick Was Right About Us
Colin Kaepernick was right about us, white America. He was right to kneel because when he did, he fully exposed us. He exposed us as we became viscerally disgusted, not

We Can’t Let Decency Die
When decency dies, all good people should grieve. Whenever someone of character leaves this planet, the rest of us should mourn that loss, because the attrition leaves us all worse

Christian, Stop Blaming God for Your LGBTQ-Hatred
Every day I meet professed Christians treating LGBTQ people like garbage and trying to convince me that God is making them. You can always tell when people of faith want

The Moral Confusion of MAGA Christians
Christians supporting Donald Trump are the most morally confused people I’ve ever met. They are profoundly spiritually disoriented. Though their disorientation began much earlier in the Presidential campaign, as day

We Could Really Use a President Right Now
America could really use a President right now. I have this thought more often than I care to consider. I have it again today. As the funeral for Senator John

The World Needs Some Good News. Give it Some.
I’m getting sick of bad news. More accurately, I’m getting sick from bad news. I don’t mean figuratively sick, either—I mean that it is making me physically ill. I wake

I Grew Up in the Catholic Church. Its Abuses Aren’t Surprising.
Note: The following article may be triggering for abuse survivors. I grew up in the Catholic Church, attending Catholic School for the first 9 years of my educational life. Though

White People, You Can’t Be Both Woke and Silent
In my travels around this country lately, I meet lots of white progressives who fancy themselves woke. They feel this way, because they’re now aware (perhaps for the first time)

Message to a Transgender Teenager
This week reminded how terrifying people can be. It reminded my how close and ugly the monsters are. An Oklahoma middle school shut down after explicit and violent threats on

Christians Supporting Trump Aren’t Christians
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” — Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride, The first Christians didn’t call themselves Christians. It

If I Could Make Non-Voters Care
Yesterday I came across a report about Idaho’s June primary, trumpeting the state’s greatest voter turnout in nearly two decades. I was encouraged. Then I read it. I became sad.

Red Hats and White Hoods
Bigotry has always done more damage in the shadows, below the surface, and beneath a disguise. It actually helps you when it shows itself; when it brazenly parades uncovered through