Good for you, Grant Hill. But there's some real tension here culturally, isn't there? Cultural expressions that in themselves are real and valid, but expressed more widely do belie an anti-white, anti-intellectualism. Anti-white feelings are totally understandable, even if I think most black Americans are trapped politically and culturally by a revisionist history and victimology. But of course I would say that; I'm white and privileged. But anti-intellectualism is bad. Still, to what extent does "blackness" require hostility to the prevailing culture? To what extent does that culture reflect the pressure to homogenize, [sp?] which is itself a racist impulse? Or is it? Paging Anthony Bradley! This is the post I wanted to write last week; I was so mad and irritated at the good doctor that I wanted to egg his house and write "VIVA GOLDWATER!" all over it. (But seriously, I love Goldwater. I'm sad he lost. Mostly.)
I once had a friend, a dear friend, who helped me with personal care needs in college. Reformed Presbyterian to the core. When I was a Reformed Presbyterian, I visited their church many times. We were close. I still consider his siblings my friends. (And siblings in the Lord.) Nevertheless, when I began to consider the claims of the Catholic Church to be the Church Christ founded, he took me out to breakfast. He implied--but never quite stated--that we would not be brothers, if I sought full communion with the Catholic Church. That came true; a couple years later, I called him on his birthday, as I'd done every year for close to ten of them. He didn't recognize my number, and it was the most strained, awkward phone call I have ever had. We haven't spoken since. We were close enough that I attended the rehearsal dinner for his wedding. His wife's uncle is a Catholic priest. I remember reading a blog post of theirs, that early in their relationship, she told him of the p
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