http://claritas.blogdrive.com/ Claritas Moralis Wed, 15 Jun 2005 10:25:02 PDT http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Liberal Other http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/8.html Wed, 15 Jun 2005 18:21:01 GMT You know when I finally got racism in America? I read something, I think it was a piece by James Baldwin, which said to be a black man (yeah, black man, grrr) in America was to feel unending humiliation and rage, to see all those around you having an actually good life and to know yourself forever locked out of it simply because you were born different from them. And I, a poor white woman, said, "Hey, I know that feeling!" But that's why Baldwin reached me: I knew that feeling. What do you do with people who have never known that feeling and think it's a reflection of "moral... (more) http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/7.html Wed, 02 Feb 2005 19:01:01 GMT It goes like this: If you have a nickle, a Democrat will steal it from you, and a Republican will kill you for it. So . . . both are thieves, but the Republican's also a murderer. And Americans seriously think that somehow makes Republicans more moral? http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/6.html Sat, 01 Jan 2005 17:19:57 GMT I will return to the horror of neoconservatism in America, but first, a small step in a long journey. Like a minor pain that becomes unendurable if it goes on long enough, the cruelest question I know gets its impact from the sheer inescapableness of it. I've studied several languages, and it appears in all, with the same formula. There's even a poem (I believe, but could not confirm, by Ogden Nash): Don't tell them about your indigestion "How are you?" is a greeting, not a question. But that's just the point. The person asks how I am, but I must, regardless of language or culture,... (more) http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/5.html Wed, 24 Nov 2004 00:49:45 GMT I am sure Martin Niemöller would approve. First They Came for the Muslims First they came for the Muslims and I did not speak out because I was not a Muslim. Then they came for the GLBT folks and I did not speak out because I was not GLBT. Then they came for the liberals and I did not speak out because I was not a liberal. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Every time you see a woman's bra patted down in public as part of a "security check"; every time someone implies that it's not important to know which candidate... (more) http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/4.html Fri, 12 Nov 2004 18:53:24 GMT Surviving a Tyrant It looks like Americans may have to find a way to survive the rule of a tyrant. The possibility that evidence of vote fraud may overturn the election results still exists, and there is some question how far Mr. Bush will be able to indulge his tyrannical bent, but he's done amazingly well at it so far, and a presidential election has never been overturned. For some Americans, flight is possible, but for many more, it isn't. Let's face our worst-case scenario. Everyone experiences tyranny at school or in the workplace at least occasionally, but surviving a tyrant... (more) http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/3.html Mon, 01 Nov 2004 13:44:40 GMT I wasn't going to double up, but given the election is only a day away, I thought I'd post a link to the article I published at Dissident Voice. Just on the off chance someone is paying attention. ^_^ http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/2.html Sat, 30 Oct 2004 16:31:13 GMT One of my problems with Christianity is that so few Christians pay much heed to the words attributed to Jesus in the bible. It's a shame: they are some of the most enlightened, compassionate words in Western literature. Red-letter bibles are even published, and still numerous modern Christians seem to skip right over those words. I grant that there are grounds to question whether there was a historical person who actually uttered them in the way that the bible depicts, but Christians are supposed to believe that there was and that he did. Surely his words should be the foundation of their... (more) http://claritas.blogdrive.com/archive/1.html Thu, 28 Oct 2004 14:29:04 GMT Can't you just hear Dick Cheney giving the following speech? [snip] When I jump over the past to look ahead, I do it intentionally. The hour is at hand! There is no time for fruitless debates. We must act, immediately and decisively, as has always been the American way. The war on terror has from its beginning acted in that way to overcome the many crises it has faced and overcome. The American government also acted decisively when faced by a threat. We are not like the ostrich that sticks its head in the sand so as not to see danger. We are brave enough to look danger in the face,... (more)