Social Cohesion

Walt Whitman's Answer to Joe Wilson

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:45:00 -0400

Go ahead, hit me with all the Tipper Gore jokes you want, but I'm beginning to think that U.S. political news, like rap music, needs a parental warning notification.

Every few years or so, we have a collective paroxysm over the bad behavior of this or that group of public figures. We fret over what the antics of sports stars or celebrities teach our children. Whether they're taking illegal steroids or partying without their knickers, we hope and pray that the kids won't mimic them.

Democracy in Action and the Obnoxious

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:05:00 -0400

Don't get too outraged, those of you who are looking down your noses at those unreasonable, misinformed anti-healthcare-reform town hallers. No matter what particular clan, tribe or party you belong to, you can't really disown them any more than you can your own grandmother. You may not agree with them, but their brand of hotheaded, self-righteous, obnoxious, stick-it-to-the-manism is as American as apple pie.

The Gates Opening

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:17:00 -0400

About the only thing as disappointing as the frivolous arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was the loud, almost gleeful chorus of "I told you so's" coming from his defenders. You've heard of schadenfreude -- taking pleasure in the suffering of others? Well, this was the peculiar political version. It's not that commentators were happy that Gates had allegedly been mistreated. But they seemed inordinately pleased that some aggrieved yet righteous person had come along to help them prove a point

Divorce and Hard Times

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:42:00 -0400

Can't stand your boring husband? Thinking of calling it quits? Well, you should have mustered the nerve to leave him well before this economic crisis. Now you might not be able to afford to live without him, literally.

It's a well-known fact that financial woes are the biggest cause of marital spats. With the economy the way it is, you'd expect lots of husbands and wives to be at each other's throats. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. This recession is so bad that you can count divorce lawyers among those professions that have taken a hit.

After the Culture Wars

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:51:00 -0400

Swine Flu Threat Doesn't Exactly Bring People Together

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:00:00 -0400

When tragedy strikes, people are supposed to band together and find strength in numbers, right? When the well-being of your community is threatened, it's important to look out for your neighbors and lend a hand to those in need, no?

Well, that's what many of us may have thought before all the hysteria about the looming swine flu pandemic.

Against Mini-Marriages

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 04 May 2009 08:04:00 -0400

In The Elementary Particles, one of the most scabrous denunciations of the Sexual Revolution and modern life ever written, Michel Houellebecq essentially offered a case for the destruction of humanity as we know it in favor of a race of peaceful, pleasure-loving, jealousy-free post-humans. And after reading Mark Regnerus on the subject of marriage, I can see why.

New Orleans' Rich History of Mixing Races

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:56:00 -0400

Writing From New Orleans -- Four years after New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin tried to endear himself to black voters by playing to their fears that they were about to be "overrun by Mexican workers," things have and haven't changed.

Mexican and other Latin American migrants who came to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina didn't overwhelm the city. But, at roughly 15% of the population -- up from 3% pre-Katrina -- they aren't going away either, and New Orleans is grappling with their presence as part of a larger post-disaster demographic shift.

As American as Little Bangladesh

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:16:00 -0400

How much is your ethnicity worth? In hard cash. Dollars and cents. How much do you think you can get for it?

When we talk about race in America, we speak in terms of power and strife. When we bring up ethnicity, we focus on the gushy stuff -- pride and the sense of belonging that strong cultural identities create. Think of those quaint, exotics-on-display "isn't diversity great?" stories on National Public Radio.

Last Impressions

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0400

Among the last things to go in the Depression was -- lipstick.

"It was not particularly expensive, but it was a prized possession," says Jeremy E. Adamson, director for collections and services at the Library of Congress. "You feel bad anyway, but you make yourself look a little bit better. It says, 'I care about myself.' Those little things are terribly important."