“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” —Nelson Mandela In 1994 Nelson Mandela was elected to the presidency of South Africa.  Things were tense: 14,000 people had died in violence in the four years since his release from prison in 1990.  Everyone predicted a bloodbath.  Confounding the experts, however, the … Read more

I like radicals. Admittedly they make me uncomfortable, but I’ve concluded that’s a good thing. Last month I visited Jubilee Partners, a radical Christian community near Athens, Georgia, where several score people live on a 250-acre property. They eat together, share battered cars, lawnmowers, and other material goods, and grow much of their own food. They visit prisoners and … Read more

A truly original character died this week.  I first got to know Will Campbell through his splendid book Brother to a Dragonfly.  Typical of Will, he shone the spotlight not on his own story but rather on that of his alcoholic, self-destructive brother Joe. Ordained as a teenager, Will was destined to be a preacher.  … Read more

Last week I saw the movie 42, the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player.   Critics have found fault with 42 for being predictable and simplistic, but for long stretches while watching I had a lump in my throat, a lump of remorse and shame.  You see, I grew up in … Read more