Pop Culture Indulgences
My list of current pop culture treats and obsessions.
Finding Fierce Urgency to Move Against Economic Inequality
This is a time to recommit ourselves to the challenges ahead of us. But while change can be slow, we must hold onto what Dr. King called the “fierce urgency of now.”
Reasons to Believe
Bruce Springsteen ends his great (but depressing) album Nebraska with the song “Reason to Believe,” each verse telling a Job-like story of a character facing loss but ending with the phrase, “At the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe.” To our Kenyon students — all of you, regardless of political views or your vote in the past election — you represent my reasons to believe.
A President's Playlist
Creating a playlist is a way for me to respond to events happening around us. This playlist is a reflection of the mixture of emotions that I have felt, and emotions that others have shared with me, over the past week.
2 a.m. Snapshot of a Diverse Democracy in Action
This is a place where ideas are meant to be challenged and contested. Where baseless and ignorant claims are countered and confronted with powerful facts. Where we listen respectfully and challenge forcefully. This is the spirit of a liberal arts institution, and we must work to practice these actions each day.