“Just Mow ‘Em Down”
Next month will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the very few well-known atrocities committed by U.S. forces in Vietnam. Compare mainstream coverage of this anniversary with the following … Michael Bilton and Kevin…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Share the Wealth with Brittany, Julia, and Suzy: Reflections from the 2017 Mev Puleo Program
We–Brittany Butler (junior), Suzy Kickham (sophomore), and Julia Nouse (sophomore)–spent 10 weeks studying liberation theology and living in community in Nicaragua this past summer. Now, after six months back in the states, lessons we learned…
Hair/2 (Letting Go/2)
The following is from The Book of Mev…. Hair/2 (Letting Go/2) The next day we met with Dr. Friedberg, who recommended we see a couple of neurosurgeons to see what could be done about the…
Unpronounceable Words
George McGovern and William R. Polk, Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now March 2007 Dear Andrew, I have finished McGovern and Polk’s primer on the catastrophe in Iraq and how to get…
Who Is Learning from History?
1. Oscar Romero’s Letter San Salvador February 17, 1980 His Excellency The President of the United States Mr. Jimmy Carter Dear Mr. President: In the last few days, news has appeared in the national press…
The Future Belongs to South America
Jessie Sandova, From the Monastery to the World: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal (Counterpoint Press, 2017) I had initial high hopes for reading the correspondence of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal. I started…
Share the Wealth with Ashaki Jackson: Some Food for Thought
My name is Ashaki Jackson and I am native to Trinidad and Tobago. My family immigrated to the U.S. when I was 8 years old and later on I moved to St. Louis and pursued…
Doing the Opposite of What Dr. King Suggested
Reagan Patrick is taking her third course with me, Comparative Religion and Culture. She recently spent some time with Dr. Martin Luther King’s April 4, 1967 speech on Vietnam and wrote the following reflection. After…
Share the Wealth with Ayesha Akhtar: صبر (Patience)
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every year, Muslims around the world take part in a month of fasting called Ramadan. Ramadan is considered to be a very holy month for us, and it…
Writing for the Future
In winter-spring of 2015 I read every book I could find in English translation of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. She’s another writer who would be at home in the world of Kafka’s Axe (“But we…