I Am A Southerner Who Grew Up

Mysteries And Thrillers Are Not The Same Things, Though They Are Literary Siblings. Roughly Put, I Would Say The Distinction Is That Mysteries Emphasize Motive And Psychology Whereas Thrillers Rely More Heavily On Action And Plot.

An Unexamined Faith Is Not Worth Having, For Fundamentalism And Uncritical Certitude Entail The Rejection Of One Of The Great Human Gifts: That Of Free Will, Of The Liberty To Make Up Our Own Minds Based On Evidence And Tradition And Reason.

The Problem For Those Who Assert Biblical Authority In Support Of Traditional Definitions Of Marriage Is That One Could, With Equal Validity, Assert That The Lending Of Money Or Certain Kinds Of Haircuts Are Forbidden By God, Or That Slavery And The Subjugation Of Women Are Authorized By The Lord.

The Past Always Seems Somehow More Golden, More Serious, Than The Present. We Tend To Forget The Partisanship Of Yesteryear, Preferring To Re-imagine Our History As A Sure And Steady March Toward Greatness.

I Am A Southerner Who Grew Up With And Around Guns. I Own Some Still. My Father Gave Me A .22 Rifle When I Was 9 And A Single Barrel .410 Shotgun When I Was 10.