Category: op-ed

Proposed new Texas curriculum plays religious favorites

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July 20, Mark Chancey, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a piece critical of proposed Texas school curriculum that infuses Bible teaching. Published in the San Antonio Express-News under the heading Proposed new Texas curriculum plays religious favorites: https://tinyurl.com/mttj6ms7 ​

 

As Texas neighbors draw the spotlight for increasing the Bible’s place in public schools — a new Louisiana law requires display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and Oklahoma’s state superintendent has declared that every teacher “will be teaching from the Bible” — the Lone Star State is quietly pursuing its own strategy to the same end.

The State Board of Education is considering a new language arts and reading curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade called Open Education Resources that includes a surprising amount of biblical content, much of it promoting some religious views over others.

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Shannen Doherty was painted as a bad-girl ‘Veronica’ stereotype. She deserved better

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July 16, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and Journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece about the good girl/bad girl personas that shadowed Shannen Doherty for much of her life and career. Published in the Los Angeles Times under the heading Shannen Doherty was painted as a bad-girl ‘Veronica’ stereotype. She deserved better:  https://tinyurl.com/5tpuxbpa 

 

As Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills 90210,” Shannen Doherty represented a bit of reverse typecasting. She was a dark-haired, sultry beauty, her green-eyed gaze peeking out through long bangs, but she played the good girl — a Midwestern virgin lost in the Sodom of Beverly Hills. Similarly cast against type, an angelic-looking blond, Jennie Garth, played Kelly, a worldly and experienced SoCal vixen — Brenda’s best friend and, sometimes, treacherous rival.

Had Aaron Spelling deliberately set out to reverse the Betty/Veronica pop-culture (and deeply Eurocentric) stereotype, in which blonds are virtuous and brunets dangerous? Maybe. (The old Hollywood version of this is the 1950s tabloid feud between sexy brunet Elizabeth Taylor and sweet blond Debbie Reynolds, who were friends before Taylor “stole” Reynolds’ then-husband, Eddie Fisher.)

But the age-old dichotomy came roaring back anyway, in the form of a “90210” backstage plotline: Doherty developed an off-camera “bad girl” reputation. Rumors flew about her allegedly demanding and entitled behavior on set. She was a Veronica, after all. Co-stars — reportedly including Spelling’s daughter, Tori — complained, until finally, in a much-publicized move, Doherty was fired. The fallen angel was expelled from Eden.

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The Irony of Dr. Ruth

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July 13, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and Journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece about the impact of the diminutive “Dr. Ruth” Westheimer on American sexuality. Published in Garelick’s New York Times ‘Face Forward’ column under the heading The Irony of Dr. Ruth: https://tinyurl.com/3m55tsuf ​

 

I will never forget the afternoon I spent, about 30 years ago, with Dr. Ruth Westheimer, interviewing her for a now-long-lost magazine article — my first ever. We met at the door of her New York City office in Washington Heights. In a gesture of mingled affection and authority, she thrust her top-handled pocketbook into my hands, while she fished for her keys. Once inside the cozy, cluttered space, I saw the many footstools she kept stowed beneath every chair. At 4-foot-7 Dr. Ruth used them to keep her feet from dangling when she sat down.

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When the economy satisfies like comfort food, could be time to exit your comfort zone

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July 10, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed analyzing the latest economic indicators and concluding that this is no time for Americans to get comfortable. Published in the Orange County Register under the heading When the economy satisfies like comfort food, could be time to exit your comfort zone: https://tinyurl.com/4pf2473v ​

The latest numbers on unemployment remind me of our family’s normal dinner routine.

That’s because we don’t have a normal dinner routine. Our daughter does four sports, one of them year-round. There is dance, homework and — sacred of sacreds — Family Movie Night. Sure, some nights end in a delicious pot roast served the minute the soccer cleats come off. We’d like to think that’s normal. But what about the other nights (OK, many other nights) that end with peanut butter and banana sandwiches eaten in the car?

The employment numbers feel like that pot roast dinner —  an economic comfort food moment  in a time where the political news is going from weird to weirder.

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The Cheerleader Trap

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July 8, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and Journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece about the deep contradictions that come with highlighting the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Published in Garelick’s New York Times ‘Face Forward’ column under the heading The Cheerleader Trap: https://tinyurl.com/myskajde 

 

When the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders sashay onto the field, hair flying and pompoms fluttering, the stands erupt in thunderous roars. Fans know they’re about to witness a spectacle every bit as thrilling and athletic as the football game they’ve been watching.

Like the pro team they represent, the cheerleaders are elite athletes at the top of their profession, enduring grueling hours of training and pushing through pain and injuries. Like the players, they make promotional appearances, sign autographs, participate in photo shoots and do community outreach.

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Why pickups cost so much in the U.S.

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July 5, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed about how tariffs become taxes and can jack up the price of products like pickup trucks. Published in the Houston Chronicle under the heading Why pickups cost so much in the U.S.: https://tinyurl.com/s7uhyvxr 

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It’s OK to talk politics with your family. I know this because my two brothers and I like to talk about pickup trucks, which is really just another way of talking politics.

I should explain. The brothers are both engineers. But not the kind of engineers who sit in front of a computer writing code and collecting stock options. They’re the kind of engineers who go to remote work sites full of heavy equipment and hazardous chemicals. They know about pickup trucks.

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The new nuclear threat: Belarus

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July 5, Anthony Colangelo, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow and Professor of Law at the Dedman School of Law, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed examining the international law implications of Belarus using nuclear weapons supplied by Russia. Published in The Hill under the heading The new nuclear threat: Belarus: https://tinyurl.com/4b9hfdn6 ​

 

On Sunday, Belarus issued a statement that it would use nuclear weapons if its “sovereignty and independence” were threatened. But would such a use violate international law?

The question breaks down into a few sub-questions, the first of which is how Belarus, Russia’s ally in the region, obtained nuclear weapons in the first place. The answer, of course, is that they came from Russia. From there, one must ask whether the stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus and the training of Belarusian soldiers in the use and operation of such weapons is a violation of international law.

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Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is dangerously wrong on history and religion

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June 26, Mark Chancey, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a commentary critical of the Louisiana law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Published in The Hill under the heading Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is dangerously wrong on history and religion: https://tinyurl.com/bdepz87h ​

Louisiana’s new law to mandate display of the Ten Commandments in public schools manages to mangle both history and the Ten Commandments themselves.

It justifies its mandate by suggesting the Founding Fathers would have favored it, citing a quotation it attributes to James Madison: “We have staked the whole future of our new nation upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

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Skilled Artists Create Art; ‘Creatives,’ No

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June 25, Robert Hunt, director of global theological education at the SMU Dallas Perkins School of Theology, for a commentary outlining a difference between the way Artificial Intelligence might generate “art” and how trained human artists follow a different process and produce different results. Published in Inside Sources under the heading Skilled Artists Create Art; ‘Creatives,’ No: https://tinyurl.com/3uva6tt6 ​

 

The word “artist” derives from the Latin “ars.” It refers to skill or craftsmanship. In popular understanding, an artist has creative ideas and the skill and craft to make these ideas manifest in works of art.

But in Silicon Valley culture and the tech industries in general, the word “artist” has been replaced by “a creative” or “creatives” in the plural.

A creative, in Silicon Valley parlance, is a person who makes Instagram videos, TikTok videos, YouTube videos, podcasts, and other social media content. It is “creatives” who manufacture content to fill the endless need for anything that will keep eyeballs on screens so that data can be collected and advertisements sold.

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U.S. v. Rahimi Denies Abusers Firearms. The Decision Is an Outlier.

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June 24, Natalie Nanasi, associate professor at the Dedman School of Law, SMU Dallas, and director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, for an analysis of a Supreme Court ruling that maintains a ban on firearms possession for domestic violence offenders. Published in Ms. Magazine under the heading U.S. v. Rahimi Denies Abusers Firearms. The Decision Is an Outlier: https://tinyurl.com/3vcmchfz ​

 

Survivors of domestic violence have won a battle in the war for common sense gun regulations. In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held Friday, June 21, that abusers subject to protective orders can continue to be denied access to firearms.

The decision in Rahimi v. United States to uphold federal law will save lives. Over half of women under the age of 45 who are murdered in the United States are killed by their intimate partner. Guns are the weapon of choice in these heartbreaking, and preventable, crimes.

Disarming domestic abusers makes our communities safer. A sizeable percentage of men who commit mass shootings have a history of intimate partner violence, and perpetrators are more likely than the average citizen to endanger the life of a police officer.

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