Editorials
537 results
Page 30
To die at 75
You go first, or: The ideal time to die
We’d all be better off if we died at 75, says the medical ethicist Ezekiel Emanuel. He mistakenly assumes that so-called “useless” people serve no useful purpose.
Editorials
6 minute read
Gay-straight hostility
Use your words
Could the recent violent Center City encounter between a gay couple and suburban homophobes have been averted through the use of less confrontational language? Let me suggest five alternative scenarios.
Editorials
4 minute read
What price victory?
If you build it . . . then what?
Why is a mediocre sports team like the Phillies prospering in its new home while great artistic and educational institutions struggle in their new venues?
Editorials
6 minute read
Back to basics with ISIS
Ten (rhetorical) questions for ISIS
America and its allies enjoy overwhelming superiority when it comes to air power and drones. But ISIS seems to be winning the war for the hearts and minds of the young and impressionable. Here’s my contribution to the rhetorical war in the Middle East.
Editorials
3 minute read
French anti-Semitism: Another view
Are the French anti-Semitic?
I don’t love all French people, any more than I love all Americans. But I do love what France stands for — which isn’t necessarily better than what America stands for, but is most assuredly different.
Editorials
5 minute read
The wimp factor
Who you calling a wimp?
What’s a testosterone-obsessed national leader to do when someone calls him a wimp? In the Internet age, when perception trumps reality, our old reliable giants of classical literature, drama, and cinema offer precious little guidance. Satirists must pick up the torch.
Editorials
5 minute read
Comcast’s spokesman confronts God
David Cohen meets his maker
Sometime in the future, a new arrival from Philadelphia stands at the entrance to the pearly gates, awaiting his admission interview.
Editorials
5 minute read
Putin vs. Peter the Great
What’s wrong with this analogy?
Western pundits seem convinced that Vladimir Putin is modeling himself after Peter the Great. But in one very important respect, these two Russian rulers are poles apart.
Editorials
4 minute read
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Ratings mania
We’re Number Ten!
What’s the world’s greatest novel, movie, or orchestra? Who’s the greatest painter or composer? In any matters involving personal taste, who knows? And why do even rabbis buy into this listing mania?
Editorials
5 minute read
Pam Sommerfield’s unique theatrical life
She did it her way, in Philadelphia
Aspiring actors usually head for Broadway or Hollywood and hope some director will notice them. Pam Sommerfield left London for Philadelphia — where she created her own unique theatrical niche.
Editorials
4 minute read