Why So Unserious?
A piece in the The New York Times reviews a recent book by Lee Siegel, Are You Serious?: How to Be True and Get Real in the Age of Silly. Surveying a variety of examples from both high and popular culture, Siegel claims that in
Toddlers–Selfish or Selfless?
Are children naturally altruistic? A recent study seems to suggest so: “When infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help" Michael Tomasello writes in “Why
Campus Media Response: Holiday Materialism Serves Spiritual Needs
Consumerism masks true significance of Christmas The Daily Nebraskan, December 7, 2009 Dear editors, Monica Sanford rehearses the cliché that consumerism and materialism have corrupted the "true significance" of Christmas. Though Sanford is not a Christian, she trots out the artificial meaning Christians have assigned to the holiday
A Tribute to Dr. Norman Borlaug and Man’s Capacity to Shape Nature
September 12th should be a global day of mourning. For that is the day that one of mankind’s greatest heroes and benefactors passed away, though barely a whisper of his passing has been heard since the weekend. Each one of us who is glad to
Obama the Intellectual?
Some say we finally have a President who is a thinker. Do we? An “open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual”—this was New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s laudatory description of America’s new president. Kristof, echoed by a chorus of similar commentators, was expressing hope that Obama might help
Enforcing ‘Constructive Behavioral Change’
A group of college presidents has sparked debate by signing a petition urging the drinking age be lowered to 18, the legally recognized age of adulthood. They argue that “twenty-one is not working” because it has “not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our