The Materialist in Her Bathtub
The materialism of people in the United States is axiomatic. Yet Mary McCarthy argued in a 1947 Commentary essay titled “America the Beautiful” that... Read More
Cosmopolitanism & Humanism
I felt at home wandering the Taj Lifestyle Center (commonly called the Taj Mall) in Amman, Jordan. It housed international retailers like H&M and... Read More
CELEBRANT
A Charter for Controversy? Public school “alternatives” still must abide by the separation of church and state
Starting in the late 1980s charter schools were pitched to Americans as a harmless and non-threatening alternative to traditional public schools. That’s come to... Read More
Imposter Syndrome, and What It Means to Be an Adult
“I don’t feel like an adult.” Perhaps that or any of the following statements sound familiar to you: “My adult life looks nothing like... Read More
The Danger of Scientism
I’ve been surprised at how many people I’ve met in the secular movement who dismiss fiction, saying they’re only interested in reading nonfiction and,... Read More
Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It
It’s a Wonderful Life is such a cheery movie, we forget that the main character, George Bailey, gets drunk, crashes his car into a... Read More
Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind
Doubting the divine while still wearing the seal of the cross can be psychological torture, like being held captive in a medieval dungeon of... Read More
Humanism isn’t absolute but we can still ask: How can humanists best comport themselves?
WHEN SEARCHING for the right words to paint some stripe of human behavior, I find it’s so often true that Mark Twain said it... Read More
Do College Athletes Get a Pass to Sexually Harass?
With so much money on the line, the asset’s value goes up while the victim’s declines Humanists might assume that the general consensus on... Read More