Siri stopped talking to us when we crossed the Michigan border. Christian had been worried the entire day about running out of battery, because he’d forgotten his car charger. Now he was even more uptight. Perhaps it will not come as a surprise to most of you to hear that I was not particularly sympathetic…
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The Trouble With “The” (A No Easy Answers Post)
The timing seemed a little ironic. An old post, called “Words Matter: A Disability Primer,” was in the process of sending my blog views through the roof, and where was I? I was sitting in a ballroom listening to a priest share a piece of advice he was given when beginning a challenging urban assignment:…
Read MoreRandom Thoughts On Pop Culture
We were sitting in front of the TV one night when a Liberty Mutual commercial came up. “We’ll buy you a car ONE YEAR NEWER than your current car, with ONE THOUSAND MILES!” they boasted. I elbowed Christian. “Whaddya think, Christian?” He nodded slowly. “Hm,” he said. “That means we could get a truck that’s…
Read MoreWhy I Hate The “Blaming The Victim” Argument
In the midst of the online debate about Ferguson last November, someone I know posted this status update on Facebook: A little provocative, to be sure, but I found value to this point of view, and it was one I hadn’t heard anyone else acknowledging amid the screeching chorus of pointing fingers and moral outrage…
Read MoreRoad Rage And Other Rage
Three times in recent weeks, I have drawn the ire of other drivers. It’s enough to make me soul-search whether the problem really is me. The first time, I’d turned the engine off at a long light and the car behind me wasn’t happy with the extra second it took me to get moving forward…
Read MoreThe Blame Game
Every time something bad happens, the biggest topic of (cough-cough) “discussion” is: whose fault is it? It may be a natural human tendency, but it does nothing to solve the problem at hand. Trying to boil everything down to whose fault it is leads to an all-or-nothing approach to complex problems. That ensures one thing:…
Read MoreConsent is NOT Sexy
“Consent Is Sexy.” That’s what the t shirt said. And clearly, the woman wearing thought it was a good slogan. I do not. First of all, I have to preface my comments by saying: I get it. The state of relations between men and women sucks. The way we talk to each other sucks. The way…
Read MoreWhen Advent Is Not Peaceful
We are approaching the midpoint of a season meant to focus on peace and preparation, yet the moment my children get in the van in the school pickup line, they are at each other’s throats. I lose my temper quickly these days, thanks in part to cyclic hormones, in part to the busy-ness of the…
Read MoreExercising My Civic Duty With Kids In Tow
Getting myself in trouble at the voting booth. Wait a minute. My KIDS getting me in trouble at the voting booth.
Read MoreNews Flash: It’s All Junk
Parades, parties and junk, junk, junk. When does it end?
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Kathleen M. Basi 