The Common Objects of Our Love – a Response to Biden’s Inauguration Speech

I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican.

I am, however, an American – a status I spent 12 years of my life and tens of thousands of dollars pursuing.

In recognition of that legally and emotionally brutal journey to citizenship, a dear friend gifted me one of the flags that flew above the Capitol on the day I became an American.  It arrived with a certificate that had been signed by one of the people’s representatives who then worked in the building it flew over.

That flag is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received …

How Political Opinions Change

scientificamerican.com

Philip Pärnamets,Jay Van Bavel 7-8 minutes

Our political opinions and attitudes are an important part of who we are and how we construct our identities. Hence, if I ask your opinion on health care, you will not only share it with me, but you will likely resist any of my attempts to persuade you of another point of view. Likewise, it would be odd for me to ask if you are sure that what you said actually was your opinion. If anything seems certain to us, it is our own attitudes. But what if this weren’t necessarily the case?…

Your Problem with Guns or Gays Is Not Political

Last month, I did something I’d done only once before: I went to a range and shot some guns. Lots of guns. All shapes, ages and sizes.

This is a very strange thing to do for a guy born British. Guns feature nowhere in British culture.

 

Accordingly, I was unsurprised by the reaction of my mother when I called home and told her that I’d had a great time learning about firearms and discovering I wasn’t a bad shot, even with a second-world-war Enfield. “That’s the last thing I’d ever imagine you’d enjoy doing,” she said to me. She wasn’t …