The Denial File
What We Can't Think About—and Why
Of Pets and Humans
Daniel Liechty | June 26, 2012
After a wonderful week at the Ozark Sufi Dance Camp, it’s back to “real life.” Gratefully, I take with me the many conversations I had …
Fido at the Food Dish
Kirby Farrell | June 21, 2012
What we can’t think about: People vote against their self-interest especially when nobody challenges them Why do working people vote against their own self-interest? The …
Choosing our illusions without care
Bill Bornschein | June 14, 2012
It is poetic justice that the Ernest Becker Foundation’s home base, Seattle, also provides us with the leitmotif of our age, expressed in the final …
Semper Fido
Kirby Farrell | May 25, 2012
What we can’t think about: We’re barking animals Why it matters: We pretend we’re not Case in point: the other night, when a thunderstorm broke …
Mixed feelings about same-sex marriage
Daniel Liechty | May 22, 2012
I knew it would happen–that somehow the issue of “same-sex marriage” would push front and center into the politics of our nation leading up to …
Not to laugh, not to lament, not to curse, but to understand
Bruce Floyd | May 17, 2012
I read today some comments by a doctor who has spent a lot of time with dying cancer patients. He says he has noticed two …
Teaching About Religion in the Public Schools
Daniel Liechty | May 10, 2012
I listened in the other day on a conversation among students sparked by a news report on a proposed Alabama bill that would allow churches …
Baptism Under Fire
Kirby Farrell | May 3, 2012
What we can’t think about: the best way to defuse religious intolerance is remember that “belief” and “faith” are enabling fictions. Let’s look again at …
Let the Dead be Baptized
Daniel Liechty | April 20, 2012
Recently there was a minor uproar when people learned that it is a practice of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) to “baptize the dead.” …
Ego-Consciousness: New and Improved.
Henry Richards | April 4, 2012
What we can’t think about: Language and consciousness are essentially outgrowths from self-reflective anxiety. Humans have such capacity in action. We have gone from huddling …
Art and Death in Louisville, Kentucky
Bill Bornschein | March 27, 2012
Perhaps this would have been more appropriately titled “Art, Death, and You,” because with this post I’d like to invite you to explore the 2012 …
Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas
Bill Bornschein | March 20, 2012
With song titles such as Going Home, Amen, Come Healing, and Darkness, it is not surprising that Leonard Cohen’s new album, Old Ideas, resonates with …
Right Policy, Wrong Reasoning
Daniel Liechty | March 13, 2012
Unlike Huffington Post commentator Sarah O’Leary I do not at all doubt the deep sincerity of the US Roman Catholic Bishops’ objections to the …
Batman in Diapers
Kirby Farrell | March 6, 2012
What we can’t think about: People support the goals of Occupy Wall Street as long as nobody does anything. You hear the complaint from all …
What Social Research Can Tell Us About the OWS Enthusiasm Gap
Daniel Liechty | February 27, 2012
Bob Burnett, blogging for the Huffington Post recently articulated a fact of American political life that has puzzled many observers. While upwards of 80% …
Misery Loves Company
Bruce Floyd | February 21, 2012
This morning when I checked my e-mail I found a rather weepy one from a minister who writes to me from time to time, always …
What do we mean by “government?”
Daniel Liechty | February 14, 2012
In today’s local newspaper, there is a letter written by a fellow citizen of my town. The letter, titled “Government is nothing but a spending …