Celestial Lands The Religious Crossroads of Politics, Power, and Theology

Category Archives: History

The Arrest of Radovan Karadžić

In 1996, when I arrived as a Peacekeeper and an intelligence analyst in Bosnia, there was a mission at the top of our list… find Radovan Karadžić. My team and I knew he was most likely in Serbia, probably Belgrade… where we had no jurisdiction and where the U.S. Government Read more →

Independence Day

Every Fourth of July I begin my day the same way, I read the entirety of the Declaration of Independence. It is a yearly reminder to me that this nation was founded on the spirit of liberalism, and that to be a liberal (a true liberal) in this nation is Read more →

Never Again… Remember Me…

I thought I understood the meaning of Memorial Day. I thought that uniform hanging back there taught me the meaning of Memorial Day. I thought that growing up the child of a soldier, and the grandchild of a sailor taught me the meaning of memorial day. But I was wrong. Read more →

The Quayle Theory of Vice-Presidential Selection

The process of selecting Vice-Presidential candidates is one of the most mysterious processes for outsiders to American politics. It is rife with stories of “backroom” deals, exchanges of influence, access to major donors, and seeking someone who balances the appeal of a candidate within their own party. It is often Read more →

Models of God

This past summer I had a conversation with a very conservative Christian pastor at the U.S. Army Chaplain School, in which I, a Unitarian Universalist, had the audacity to use the word “God”. He looked at me with an angry eye and said “So who’s your God, Mammon?!?” I have Read more →

The Freedom to Listen, or Not

My father, a man who dedicated his entire life to defending his nation through military and then civil service, once said this to me about Freedom of Speech: “Son, Freedom of Speech means you can say whatever you want, but it does not mean anyone has to listen to you, Read more →

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