mhulseth

(Part of a thread to share poems or poetry-adjacent writing, as discussed here .) Note: First a semi-apology to those who follow my blog feed (as opposed to parachuting in now and then). I’m aware I haven’t posted much lately. That's largely because more diligent Substack people have been saying plenty of things I don’t need to echo. But it’s also due to my decision after the 2024 election to sit back, watch and try to understand how the MAGA Christian Right fits into the semi-coherent...

It’s almost always a category mistake to generalize about “religion.” This is such an amorphous category that it is like attempting to generalize about all people who have ever labored. Our stance should indeed be agnostic before we dig into cases.

Hardwired into religious traditions, as part of longstanding sensibilities, are teachings about justice, care for the weak, and attention to the common good: teachings that command nontrivial respect in the public sphere.... Common sense plus the moral legacies of our religious traditions add up to a combined weight that is not trivial. We may not be able to fight a riptide, but if we can fund a war, then surely we can fund a school.