Tag: politics

In an SMU classroom, George W. Bush was a lesson on civic virtue

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Oct 26, Dallas Gingles, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Perkins School of Theology at SMU Dallas, for a commentary about how George W. Bush exhibited ‘civic virtue’ during a visit to his theology class. Published in the Austin American-Statesman under the heading: In an SMU classroom, George W. Bush was a lesson on civic virtue:  https://tinyurl.com/ftrp6b23 ​

 

I had the rare honor in September of welcoming a former president of the United States into my classroom. President George W. Bush surprised the students in my seminar, “Presidential Rhetoric and American Political Theology,” at Southern Methodist University, by arriving five minutes into the class and staying for a full hour to take questions from every student in the room.

The 43rd president periodically makes these visits to engage with students in SMU classrooms – one of the great perks that comes with the location of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on our campus. On this visit, as always, President Bush was thoughtful, honest, reflective and wise. But more than anything he was an exemplar of civic virtue.

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Change your politicians, not your clocks

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Nov. 8, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for a piece framing the precarious position the new British prime minister faces in trying to keep good relations with the U.S., Ireland and Northern Ireland. Published in Inside Sources under the heading Rishi Sunak’s Take on the Economy, Brexit and Ireland Could Have Profound Effect on U.S. Banking and Commerce: https://tinyurl.com/bdb2xbv2

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When I was a teenager my parents warned me that bad things happen at 2 a.m. They were right.

This Sunday morning at 2 a.m., we’re all supposed to set our clocks back by one hour.

That’s probably not the bad thing Mom and Dad were worried about, but it is definitely a bad thing. Changing our clocks twice a year was sold as a way to save energy, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. It is, however, bad for our health — leading to seasonal spikes in cardiac events and accidents. Not surprisingly most people hate it.

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California migrants are not trying to un-Texas Texas

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Nov. 19, Dean Stansel and Meg Tuszynski, research fellows at the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom at SMU’s Cox School of business, for an analysis of the impact on economic policies by immigrants and transplants who move to Texas. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading California migrants are not trying to un-Texas Texas: https://bit.ly/3fcIKUk

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For centuries, people have been fleeing governments that limit their freedoms and moving to countries, or to less regulated areas within their own nations, that afford greater freedom. For many years, the U.S. had an open door to those immigrants. That door is no longer quite so open.

One reason is that some immigration opponents believe immigrants will import the bad institutions and policies from their countries of origin. The idea that people fleeing countries with bad public policies will later support those very same policies in their new country seems dubious at best. We believe it’s more likely they will self-select into countries affording more freedoms.

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Evangelicals Can’t Bridge Racial Divides With Reconciliation Overtures Alone

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June 5, Professor Stephanie Martin, an assistant professor of communication and public affairs at SMU Dallas, for a piece pointing out that Christian Evangelicals must go beyond “reconciliation” if they want to close the racial divide with African American constituencies. Published in Inside Sources and its affiliates. https://bit.ly/3gR5Lgd  https://bit.ly/3cMtsTB

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Evangelical leaders hesitated to criticize President Trump after he ordered police and military authorities to use tear gas and rubber bullets to remove peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park near the White House so he could get his picture taken in front of nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Trump’s purpose in creating the photo op was not immediately clear, but it hardly seems a stretch to imagine it was a signal to his most ardent Christian supporters that they could count on him to restore law and order to America’s streets. . .

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