Tag: culture

  • Why Are We So Negative These Days?

    Why Are We So Negative These Days?

    One thing I’ve been realizing lately is that a lot of negativity starts much smaller than we think. A person encounters something unfamiliar, emotionally uncomfortable, strange, or simply outside their normal frame of reference… and their first reaction is: “I don’t understand this.” But instead of stopping there, that feeling often mutates into:“This is stupid.”“This…

  • Seen / Unseen Greenville: Distinctly American. Distinctly Southern.

    Seen / Unseen Greenville: Distinctly American. Distinctly Southern.

    (What Does It Even Mean to Be American—or Southern—Right Now?) People usually look to places like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Washington when they want to explain America to itself. That makes sense. Those cities dominate media, finance, politics, entertainment, and cultural mythology. But honestly, I think cities like Greenville may tell us more…

  • The Fulcrum and Axis: The Seen and Unseen- A Diatribe on Trying to Figure Out Life, the Universe, and Everything

    The Fulcrum and Axis: The Seen and Unseen- A Diatribe on Trying to Figure Out Life, the Universe, and Everything

    Today we are going way up our own butts. I just want to establish that immediately so nobody thinks this is about to become a grounded and practical discussion about taxes or lawn care or whatever emotionally healthy people spend their Sundays doing. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about threshold moments in stories. Those…

  • Prayer, Mercy, and the Sound of Now

    Prayer, Mercy, and the Sound of Now

    How U2 and President lead me to prayer. Music anchors my life. It always has. It fills the silence in a way nothing else can, a constant companion when everything else feels uncertain. There are times I step away from it—intentionally, even—but those breaks never last. I always come back. I need it. Part of…

  • Why We Accept the World As It Is

    Why We Accept the World As It Is

    I want to start with something simple. A small game I’ve been playing lately. I call it watch the problem spread. Next time you’re stopped at a red light, don’t reach for your phone. Just look around for a second. Watch the cars. Watch the people. Most—if not all—will drop their heads almost immediately. The…