Editorials
536 results
Page 37
Toby Zinman and her critics
The critic and her critics
Arts critics usually fall into one of three categories: journalists, academics and groupies. Toby Zinman, the Inquirer's current lead drama critic, defies such easy categorization, which is mostly to her credit. But a lack of formal grounding can cause great pain when you're suddenly thrown into the pool without it.
Editorials
6 minute read
The trouble with papal infallibility
The unbearable lightness of being infallible
To some observers, the pope is a rare modern example of an absolute dictator. Yet far from enhancing the pope's power, the doctrine of papal infallibility locks every pope in to the rulings of his predecessors. How did a church that once attracted the brightest minds in Christendom wind up with such shallow leadership?
Editorials
7 minute read
Johnny Deadline, composer (parody)
They call me Johnny Deadline, or: No country for old composers
The Pope, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban and the Quakers were all breathing down my neck for a piece of my creativity. Could I take the pressure? For a deadline composer, it was just another day at the office.
Editorials
5 minute read
History lesson from David Brooks
To emigrate or not: My ancestors weigh the pros and cons
The New York Times columnist David Brooks urges today's self-centered Americans to sacrifice the present for the future, as our immigrant ancestors did. Do you suppose he was in the room when my own forebears first decided to emigrate to America?
Editorials
5 minute read
Brave new world of blogging
In control, out of control: Bloggers, editors and BSR
Roz Warren has discovered the difference between the New York Times and its website. Basically, it's the difference between total control and anarchy. Here at BSR, we seek a happy medium.
Editorials
5 minute read
Inflated résumés and "encouraged memory'
The reinvention of Buffalo Bill (with a little help from you and me)
The human capacity for self-delusion is infinite. Most of us doctor our personal résumés to suit our particular fantasies, and as we grow older there are fewer people around to challenge us. Public figures— and we media types— are the worst offenders.
Editorials
6 minute read
Should New Jersey leave the Union?
Farewell, New Jersey
Some Texans want to secede from the Union— and some Northerners say good riddance. But why focus on Texas when we have a much more serious candidate for expulsion right here in our own back yard?
Editorials
4 minute read
Whites vs. Indians: a better way
America's Indian tragedy: A path not taken (and a lesson from the French)
The American Indians' claim to an entire continent in perpetuity was morally flimsy. But the violent manner in which they were removed was downright appalling. Was there no better way to resolve the conflicting land needs of white settlers and Indians in the 19th Century? As a matter of fact, there was.
Editorials
8 minute read
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Found: Stanley Kubrick's message (a reply)
What was Kubrick trying to say? (Answer below)
Contrary to his countless mystified critics, the great film director Stanley Kubrick did indeed relay a consistent message. It had to do with the enduring power of beauty, the folly of human institutions and the insignificance of mere people in the mind of God.
Editorials
7 minute read
Samuel Colt's revolver: A mixed blessing
A world without guns, or: Be careful what you wish for
Samuel Colt, inventor of the six-shooter, grew up in a remarkable era of peace and pacifism. Yet that world wasn't necessarily a happy place. Colt's “Great Equalizer” solved all sorts of social problems while creating new ones. It's a lesson for anyone advocating sweeping solutions to America's gun culture.
Editorials
5 minute read