Common Good, Common Ground, Common Sense
“My husband once told me of what seemed like a vision (he wasn’t sleeping): men were coming home from work and sitting in front of screens. The experience of this scene in his mind made him feel a profound sense of desolation.”
“To make a re-localized economy viable, one of the things that needs to happen is that most people, most of the time, begin to gravitate towards Mom and Pops where possible.”
The American Commons: Ben, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. It’s been about 6 months since your campaign for Wisconsin State Senate wrapped. That was a difficult campaign, but you received 194 votes, which is considerably more than is typical for first-time candidates running on a previously unknown party ticket. Now…
“There is beauty in the playgroup of new moms who send meals when a new baby is born, the group of girl friends who bring ice cream after a bad break up, the group of neighbors that share beers in the cul-de-sac on a Friday evening, the community soup kitchen in the church parking lot on a Monday morning, the prayer vigil supporting a grieving family. We can lose sight of this common and basic need when we hide behind a computer screen or abstract political ideals.”
“The drudgery of shopping gives way to the joy of community as you become friends with the guy who sells you produce, the lady who makes your Christmas cards, the dairy farmer who sells you whole milk. “
The reporters who made the effort to search me out were always very sympathetic. That’s probably attributable to the fact that we haven’t scared anybody yet.
“The broader options for the voters in terms of third parties don’t seem to have made politics worse in these states – which of course raises the question: What is the justification for the more stringent laws which other states impose?”
“Our convictions rarely shift as the result of one extremely convincing discussion, but rather as the result of countless low-key, friendly, winsome conversations with someone we admire or enjoy.”
“You should have killed your daughter.” That’s the implicit charge I hear in the abortion debate from many of those who claim to be fighting for “women’s rights”. Every time a new abortion story hits the news, I see members of the media or posts on social media that mention “genetic abnormalities,” “Down’s Syndrome,” “fetal…
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me. Jeremiah 8:18 * I’ve recently delved into the books of the Prophets in the Bible. I studied them in college, and as a student, I looked at dates and names, trying to keep everything straight for papers and tests. But as…