Seinfeld’s famous Festivus Playwrights have long used jesters to spotlight the folly in prevailing thoughts and customs. And they were doing so long before William Shakespeare patented this literary device. However, Jerry Seinfeld might be the first jester to employ this device. He did so by making “Festivus for the rest of us” the theme of… Read more.
holidays
Happy Hanukkah! Despite the Rise in Antisemitism
Rise in antisemitism Let’s stand with Jews here and everywhere to combat the antisemitic violence now terrorizing them. History is flashing warnings to the world. Outbursts of antisemitism have often been harbingers of societies in deep trouble and omens that extremism and violence are imminent. So the wave of global hatred directed against Jews –… Read more.
‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ Is Racist?
‘Charlie Brown’ I was happy to grow beyond my childhood fantasies and rituals. Indeed, it felt like a rite of passage. I stopped believing in the Bible, the Tooth Fairy, and Santa Claus and no longer had to attend Church. But I don’t mind admitting that I never grew out of watching Charlie Brown. This enduring interest stems from the indelible impression Franklin made on… Read more.
Columbus Day Is Now Indigenous Peoples’ Day
In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue [Blah blah blah] If, like me, you attended primary school in the 1960s or 1970s, you probably had to learn to recite the poem “In 1492” in its entirety. Teachers taught this poem with no compunction about the cultural annihilation and plunder it glorifies. Christopher Columbus, the disoriented explorer… Read more.
Happy Christmas! Really…?
Tell that to the Ukrainians suffering the ravages of war in Ukraine, Uyghurs living in internment camps in China, Rohingyas being ethnically cleansed in Myanmar, and Africans enduring everything from civil strife to chronic drought across the continent. Which is why the migrants waiting at the border to get into the United States might count… Read more.
Yom Kippur: Yom tov
Happy Labor Day!
Here’s to the normal you’ve been wishing for… Read more.
Happy (In)dependence Day America!
We have a serious problem. America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world…. We must end our dependence on foreign oil. [US President George W. Bush] Good luck kicking this habit America. Not to mention trying to survive economically without the 11 million illegal immigrants who perform so much of your manual labor…. Read more.