Tag: John Wilkinson

Caspar David Friedrich, Two Men Contemplating the Moon, 1825.

2,681 words

Modernity is alienating, particularly for men. We all experience this feeling. Even those of us fortunate enough to have reasonably healthy social lives often find ourselves isolated, unable to completely trust people who we believe to be our friends. (more…)

858 words

“We don’t take kindly to joggers around these here parts.” (Cue dueling banjos)

Let’s get right to it. I’m a blue-collar southerner. Greg and Travis McMichael could literally be my brothers or cousins. (more…)

913 words

Three weeks ago, soon after the first “shelter in place” orders were being handed down by governors throughout the nation, I made a decision to start wearing some kind of “mask” when in public or around others. (more…)

1,067 words

I have lived in this middle-class, predominantly white, aging metropolitan subdivision for nearly 15 years. Despite the palpable demographic changes in the local community, I feel safe and comfortable here. (more…)

1,383 words

He advanced to the council-table:
And, “Please your honors,” said he, “I’m able,
By means of a secret charm, to draw
All creatures living beneath the sun,
(more…)

FBI sketch of D. B. Cooper

1,495 words

Most Americans’ lives, from cradle to grave, are spent immersed in clichés about “American values.” We are force-fed egalitarian propaganda and glutted with hyperbolic mythologies about historical people, places, and events. Few ever question the All-American operating system that their hard drives are programmed with, and fewer still find the courage to “buck the system.” (more…)

722 words

If you took the opportunity to read my introductory essay, “Coyote Ugly,” you will recall my thesis that Western institutions are as much, if not more, to blame for our demise as a people than any historic or current tribal conflicts. (more…)

923 words

I spend a good deal of my time pondering the many patterns and complexities of human behavior that have spawned our current state of affairs. Itʼs quite a mess to untangle – a daunting problem with no easy solutions. (more…)