Category: Opinion
-
Progressive Triumphalism Is Premature
Under Democratic and Republican governors alike, and with the cooperation of a supposedly progressive legislature, Massachusetts is defunding human services and education and prioritizing corporate welfare. This casual contempt for the less fortunate among us continues. On December 4, the Governor announced further cuts under his 9C powers (which do not require legislative approval):…
-
Letter from the Editor
The life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. looms large in our nation. As we approach the 50th anniversary of his landmark speech at the March on Washington, surely, books, documentaries, and other wares will extoll the virtue of this great man. The risk and violence of the era in which he…
-
Time for Action on Common-Sense Gun Reform
As a parent and grandparent, I remain overcome with sadness, grief and outrage by the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. This unspeakable act of violence will forever imprint December 14, 2012 in our hearts and minds, and my heart goes out to the families impacted by this senseless tragedy and the many others we have…
-
A Happy New Year?
This is supposed to be a year in review issue, but for me it’s all about the future and what it holds for and for all of us. I really don’t know what it holds. When I think about recent events, I’m almost afraid– the shooting in Newtown. How can anyone possibly think about a…
-
Spare Change's Editor-in-Chief Discusses the Newtown Shooting at the Huffington Post
Spare Change News’s editor-in-chief, Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, has a new article up at the Huffington Post on the mass-shooting in Newtown, Connecticut: “An Elegy for Innocence.” Here’s an excerpt: This year alone in Chicago, Ill., more than 400 people have died from gun violence — many victims are children and teens. Yet there is…
-
In Rememberance of the Trees
For fourteen days we went about our lives without heat or electricity in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Family, friends, and our trusted Grundig radio kept us informed about the nightmares unfolding outside the fragile doors of our world. The reports that we heard about loss of life, homes, and hope were heartbreaking and difficult…
-
Being Homeless
I am a woman experiencing homelessness in a women’s shelter in Waltham called Bristol Lodge. Being homeless and living with many women is not what I would wish on my worst enemy. I dislike living with a group of women because stealing and fighting are always present. Many of the women do not know how…
-
Israel, Palestine, the US, & Peace
Ten days ago, the United States joined Israel and just seven other countries to vote against the U.N. upgrading Palestine to a non-voting observer state. This decision has made it clearer than ever before that the U.S. is a major obstacle to any progress towards a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. American officials had the…
-
For the GOP, A Roadmap Back From Irrelevance
Republican uber-strategist Karl Rove’s election-night meltdown on live television put a human face on the GOP’s willful self-delusion. Mitt Romney, who didn’t prepare an Election Night concession speech, ran a campaign based on yesteryear’s party values, policies, and worldview. “It’s not a traditional America anymore,” moaned Fox News conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly. The wake-up call…
-
Starting the Christmas Tithe
I get it. But religious leaders tend to be judgmental about many of the wrong things; they are not making moral judgments on the important questions. So I am going to be judgmental, as a religious leader, about something I just read. A recent Harris International and World Vision poll showed that Americans plan to…