Category: Cultural Commentary Written by Jim Denison

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According to the latest Rasmussen poll, the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is tied. Each has 44 percent support among likely US voters. Among those who could change their minds, the two are tied at 36 percent each. And so the most contentious campaign in memory continues to trouble, fascinate, and polarize Americans.

Meanwhile, Game 7 of the most-watched World Series of all time is tonight. We want to know if Chicago can win the title for the first time since 1908, or if Cleveland will win for the first time since 1948.

And USA Today is reporting on new evidence supporting the theory that Amelia Earhart died as a castaway on a remote island. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery says they have found evidence that Earhart made more than one hundred radio transmissions in the days after her plane went missing. They also claim that a partial skeleton discovered in 1940 on the island of Nikumaroro (located between Hawaii and Australia) could belong to Earhart.

Category: Cultural Commentary Written by Jim Denison

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There's very good news in today's Cultural Commentary. But you'll have to look beyond the news to find it.

Today's headlines are not helpful to our quest for encouragement: Life expectancy for Americans is declining. Seventy-four percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track, up nearly 50 percent from 2012. As the political season grinds to a conclusion, one woman quoted by The Washington Post spoke for many: "All of my friends and family are so ready for the country to move beyond this election. Me, too. I'd rather feel hopeful than hopeless."

To feel hopeful on this All Saints Day, don't look to your culture. Instead, look to your church. Here's why: a Harvard professor has shown that religious attendance will increase your health, happiness, and sense of purpose in life.

Category: Cultural Commentary Written by Jim Denison

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A truckload of manure was dumped Saturday morning outside the Warren County Democratic Party headquarters in Ohio. The Clinton campaign probably sees this as a metaphor for the FBI's announcement on Friday that it is reviewing more emails that may be linked to their candidate. Last night, federal investigators obtained a warrant to begin searching a large cache of emails belonging to Huma Abedin, a top Clinton aide.

A columnist for The Daily Beast is claiming today that Republicans have "weaponized" the FBI against Mrs. Clinton. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is accusing FBI Director James Comey of breaking federal law by disclosing the new email investigation.

Doesn't it seem fitting that Halloween comes a week before the election?

Category: Cultural Commentary Written by Jim Denison

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You don't have to be a baseball fan to know that tonight's World Series game in Chicago's Wrigley Field is historic. It's the first such game to be played in the storied stadium since the "Curse of the Billy Goat" began.

Here's the story: The Cubs were playing the Detroit Tigers in the 1945 World Series. Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis brought his pet goat to the game, but its odor offended nearby fans. When stadium officials asked Billy to leave, he famously declared, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." And they haven't.

For the next seventy-one years, the Cubs were the poster child for sports futility. No team in any sport has gone so long without playing for a championship. The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908; that year, there were only forty-six states in the United States. It's been longer since the Cubs won the World Series than it was between their last championship and the presidency of John Adams.

Category: Cultural Commentary Written by Jim Denison

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Donald Trump was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Yesterday a man dressed as a construction worker attacked it with a sledgehammer and an ax.

Doesn't this feel like a metaphor for the politics of our day?

Joe Biden recently suggested that he'd like to fight Trump, a challenge the Republican nominee said he'd relish. Meanwhile, Trump is telling voters that Hillary Clinton's Syria plan "will lead to World War Three." Clinton is claiming that Trump represents "an unprecedented attack on our democracy." And on it goes.

Why are our politics so combative? One answer is that successful politicians know what their constituents want. We live in a day consumed with conflict. Terrorism threatens our homeland; violence in our cities is escalating; chronic anxiety continues to rise. We want leaders who feel our pain and give voice to our fears. Those running for office know this. As a result, our politics are belligerent because our politicians reflect the conflicts our people feel.