Ira Chernus
Ira Chernus is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and author of"American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea."
Articles by this author
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Views Sunday, December 11, 2016 Joy Trumps Fear Sometimes I force myself to look at photos of Donald Trump, to confront the harsh reality that he will indeed, in all likelihood, soon be the president of the United States. What strikes me most forcefully in that face is the total lack of joy. Oh, I imagine he can feel plenty of pleasure. he seems... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, February 02, 2016 America's New Vietnam in the Middle East It was half a century ago, but I still remember it vividly. “We have to help South Vietnam,” I explained. “It’s a sovereign nation being invaded by another nation, North Vietnam.” “No, no,” my friend protested. “There’s just one Vietnam, from north to south, divided artificially. It’s a civil war... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, December 08, 2015 America’s Reckless War Against Evil Oh, no! Not another American war against evil! This time, it’s the Islamic State (IS). After the attacks in Paris, Barack Obama, spokesman-in-chief for the United States of America, called that crew “the face of evil.” Shades of George W. Bush. The “evildoers” are back. And from every mountaintop,... Read more |
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Views Friday, September 26, 2014 Don’t Blame Climate Change Deniers The old joke, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it," is no laughing matter any more. It's dead serious. Yet the United States seems politically paralyzed on this most vital issue. It's easy to blame the climate change deniers. But it's wrong. In Gallup's most recent... Read more |
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Views Thursday, July 10, 2014 Israel's Strategy and America's Mythology Bombs are falling and people are dying in Gaza. It's headline news in America's mass media. As usual, though, we get only today's events, with no historical context to explain what's really going on and why. The crucial piece of history our mass media ignore is that one basic principle has always... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, June 17, 2014 "Iraq" Is Still Arabic for "Vietnam" When George W. Bush and the neocons launched their war in Iraq, critics coined the slogan, "'Iraq' is Arabic for 'Vietnam.'" The point was obvious: Another long quagmire of a war in an inhospitable foreign land would lead once again to nothing but death, suffering, and defeat for America. That was... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, June 11, 2014 Mental Health vs. Gun Control: A Devil’s Bargain The tragic death of seven young people in Isla Vista, CA, has sparked renewed calls for gun control, as everyone expected. Less expected: Republicans in the House are leading a push for a well-funded federal program to give a broad range of new services to Americans with serious mental illness... Read more |
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Views Friday, June 06, 2014 A Civil War Myth That Hurts Us All Why are so many Americans woefully ignorant of their nation's history? That perennial question is raised yet again by Timothy Egan in his latest column on the New York Times website. To prove that the problem is real, Egan cites two pieces of evidence. The first one surely is cause for concern: "a... Read more |
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Views Friday, May 02, 2014 9/11 Museum Stirs Memories... and Protest Memories of old conflicts often spark new conflicts. So it's no surprise that there's controversy swirling around the National September 11 Memorial Museum , due to open on May 21 , rising from the ashes of the fallen World Trade Center. The Museum will offer visitors a short video about another... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, April 09, 2014 Americans Still Blind to Israel’s Domination of Palestine When Stephen Colbert looks at people he doesn't see skin color. He treats everyone equally because everyone is equally white to him. In the same way, Joseph Kahn, foreign editor of the New York Times , sees no difference between Israelis and Palestinians. When it comes to covering the U.S. -... Read more |