Editorials
533 results
Page 35
The Eichmann verdict: Arendt's vs. mine
Hannah Arendt's verdict vs. mine: What Eichmann's judges should have said
The final paragraph of Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem— in which she suggests what the judges should have told a Nazi war criminal— is widely acclaimed as brilliant but always struck me as intellectually flimsy. So what should the judges have said? I thought you'd never ask.
Editorials
7 minute read
What George Washington could teach Egyptians
Where are you, George Washington, now that Egypt needs you?
George Washington hungered for respect rather than power. As a result, he perfected the art of gaining power by giving it away. Egypt's generals and their foes in the Muslim Brotherhood could use someone like him right now.
Editorials
6 minute read
The Zimmerman trial and the Pritzker Prize
Are gated communities really safe? Is the Pritzker Prize worth the fuss?
Two questions about the George Zimmerman murder case, plus one question about the Pritzker Prize and sexism in architecture.
Editorials
4 minute read
The "tragedy' of a Polish actress
An actress who couldn't handle freedom
Elzbieta Czyżewska was a widely acclaimed Polish actress in the '60s, but her career and her life fell apart after she moved to the U.S. Freedom, it seems was her undoing. But whose fault is that?
Editorials
5 minute read
Sam Katz films the Rizzo years
Still fighting about Rizzo
The fourth installment of Sam Katz's Philadelphia history documentary takes us back to the nasty and divisive Rizzo years of the 1970s. What's lacking is a sense of perspective and context. Three separate historical/journalistic problems are to blame.
Editorials
6 minute read
When pop music confronted history
Don't know much about history: The accidental wisdom of pop songs
From Noel Coward to Jimmy Jones, history was once a major staple of popular songs for adolescents like me, who enjoyed ridiculing the material that our teachers crammed down our throats. Nowadays, pop songs are political rather than historical.
Editorials
4 minute read
Andrew Greeley, latter-day Erasmus
He did it his way
Like Erasmus of Rotterdam before him, the combative Catholic priest Andrew Greeley steadfastly refused to align himself with any institution or philosophy. How did he manage to survive and even flourish?
Editorials
4 minute read
Crisis at the Swim Club
Scourge of the dorks
Do you understand the difference between a jock, a geek and a dork? Your future membership at Center City's popular Pine Street Swim Club may depend on it.
Editorials
4 minute read
To follow your dream or play it safe?
We're Number Ten! (and other practical tips for dreamers)
When a teenager dreams of becoming a famous performer, how should a parent respond? Maybe that's the wrong question.
Editorials
5 minute read
Doctors vs. lawyers
Doctors and lawyers: Two trains running (in opposite directions)
Two centuries ago, doctors were bleeding their patients while lawyers were drafting the Constitution. Today, doctors stand on the cusp of eliminating disease altogether while lawyers are still stuck in the 18th Century. What happened?
Editorials
7 minute read