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Dispatches From the Culture Wars - October 1, 2019

Suddenly Last Summer; Cancel Culture; Faith and Climate; Anti-Communism is Back with a Vengeance; Poland's Jewish Museum; Family and the Far Right; Little Haiti

Cancelled celebs,Chelsea Stahl / NBC News; Getty Images; AP

One Hell of a Summer

By Eliot Weinberger
September 26, 2019
London Review of Books

A look back at a season of low expectations brought lower and lower.

Two Takes on Cancel Culture

It's a Thing  By Emma Grey Ellis, September 8, 2019, Wired

It's Baloney  By Osita Nwanevu, September 23, 2019, The New Republic

 

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Faith-Based Groups in the Climate Movement

By Lynette Wilson
September 25, 2019
Episcopal News Service

Episcopalians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, United Methodists, Muslims, Buddhists and Baha’i representing some 48 organizations came together to strategize ways faith-based organizations can address climate change by filling the gaps left by governments in regard to climate change and adaptation to its effects.

The European Parliament Chooses Anti-Communism

By David Broder
September 27, 2019
Jacobin

The European Parliament has condemned communism as equivalent to Nazism. Based on a fantasy reading of history, the motion smears all “radicalism” as “totalitarian” — and dismisses the moral superiority of those who fought fascism.

The Attack on Poland’s Jewish History Museum

By Masha Gessen
September 23, 2019
The New Yorker

This is not the first time that the Polish government has seized control of museums, using blunt pressure or clever legal ploys, depending on the situation. So important is history that the government wants complete control of it. 

Family Values and the New Right

By Cinzia Arruzza
September 25, 2019
Blog of the American Philosophical Association

The crusade against the so-called “gender ideology” – a derogatory term coined by the Vatican – has become a central tenet of the new far-right and has come to be perceived as representing widespread popular beliefs.

Little Haiti is Up For Grabs

By Andres Viglucci
September 29, 2019
Miami Herald

The future of one of Miami’s poorest, yet most singular and misunderstood, communities hangs precariously in the balance. The centrally located Little Haiti has become a magnet for real estate investors, business owners and speculators looking for opportunities with a low cost of entry and a potentially big upside.