Articles of the week:
- Israel is working towards the systematic “elimination” of the conditions that sustain Palestinian collective life in the occupied West Bank
- Watching NAZA was like peering through a window – and seeing the machinery of killing in Gaza
- Trump’s Wars, Both Real And Trade, Are Now Hiking Americans’ Borrowing Costs, Too
- MAGA Is Exploiting the Lindsay Clancy Case to Try to End Voting for Women
- Russian disinformation networks gear up for US midterms
- Carney Says Canada and E.U. 'Are Not Fair Weather Allies' as Trump Threatens Europe Over 'Hostile Act'
- How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
- Faster! Louder! Brighter! How the attention economy overwhelmed children’s TV
- Scientists shrank mice's brains and replaced the missing tissue with human 'organoids'
- First-Ever Single Brain Implant Can Translate Speech and Gestures at the Same Time
- Cuttlefish suckers reveal how they grip rough prey—and could inspire better technology
- Ferroelectric material that's stable at near-atomic thickness reveals new route to low-power electronics
- Higher testosterone linked to opposite suicide risks for older men and women
- Wild dogs record 2,500-mile trek across Africa in search of a mate
The Comparison Project
Global Philosophy of Religion in the Local Des Moines Community
09/24/2026: Panel Dialogue on Religion and the Insurance Industry
On Thursday, September 24 at 6:00 pm in Aliber 101 (2847 University Ave), we host our first event of our 2026–2028 series on Prophets & Profits, a panel dialogue featuring local insurance industry executives.
Insurance does more than calculate probabilities and pay claims. It determines how uncertainty, vulnerability, and financial loss are shared—and who will be protected when catastrophe strikes. Decisions about pricing, coverage, exclusions, claims, and capital therefore involve not only technical and commercial judgments, but also fundamental questions of fairness, responsibility, trust, and human dignity.
10/17/2026: Meet My Religious Neighbor: Navaratri
On Saturday, October 17, we will celebrate the Hindu festival of Navaratri from 5:00–7:00 pm at the Hindu Cultural and Educational Center (1960 E. Army Post Rd.)
Navaratri is a nine-night Hindu festival worshipping nine different forms of the Goddess Durga. For our site visit, we will join the Hindu Cultural and Educational Center for a bhajan, including songs and dances for different Hindu deities. The bhajan will conclude with aarti (offering of flame to the gods) and prashad (meal of blessed foods).
10/25/2026: Meet My Religious Neighbor: Boun Ok Phansa
On Sunday, October 25, we will celebrate the annual holiday of Boun Ok Phansa at 10:00 am with the Lao Buddhist temple, Wat Lao Buddhavath (1804 E Park Ave).
Boun Ok Phansa celebrates the end of the three-month rain retreat (Vassa), during which time Theravada Buddhist monks traditionally remained indoors at a single location (during the monsoon season) to devote themselves to study and meditation. The event will include chanting, prayers, and an offering of food to the monks (tak bat).
11/08/2026: Meet My Religious Neighbor: Diwali
On Sunday, November 8, we will celebrate the Hindu (and pan-Indian) festival of Diwali in the evening (exact time tbd) at the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (33916 155th Ln, Madrid).
The pan-Indian “festival of lights,” Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, truth over untruth. For Hindus, the holiday is especially associated with the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya, as well as with Lord Krishna’s miraculous protection of the people of Vrindavan.
11/19/2026: Sudev Sheth, “Who Owns Wealth? Gandhi’s Answer to Capitalism”
On Thursday, November 19 at 6:00 pm in Aliber 101 (2847 University Ave), Dr. Sudev Sheth, Senior Lecturer of International Studies at the Lauder Institute and the Wharton School and Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania, will lecture on “Who Owns Wealth? Gandhi’s Answer to Capitalism.”
Who owns wealth, and what responsibilities come with creating it? While modern debates about capitalism often focus on markets versus government, Gandhi offered a strikingly different perspective. He argued that wealth should not be viewed as absolute private property but as a trust held on behalf of society. Drawing on the stories of some of India’s most influential business families, this lecture explores Gandhi’s idea of “trusteeship” and how it shaped generations of entrepreneurs. It concludes by considering what Gandhi’s vision might contribute to contemporary debates about business, inequality, and corporate purpose.
For more information, please visit: https://comparisonproject.wp.drake.edu/
I’m Not The Radical Left, I’m The Humane Middle
September 26, 2019 / John Pavlovitz
Apparently, I’ve been radicalized and I wasn’t aware.
Certain people call me the “radical Left” all the time.
I never considered myself radical before.
I just thought I was normal, ordinary, usual.
I thought equity was important to everyone.
I imagined America was filled with people who took that Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness stuff seriously—for all people.
I thought the Golden Rule was actually mainstream.
Recently I took an inventory of my positions, screening for the extremism:
I believe in full LGBTQ rights.
I believe we should protect the planet.
I believe everyone deserves healthcare.
I believe all religions are equally valid.
I believe the world is bigger than America.
I believe to be “pro-life,” means to treasure all of it.
I believe women should have autonomy over their own bodies.
I believe whiteness isn’t superior and it is not the baseline of humanity.
I believe we are all one interdependent community.
I believe people and places are made better by diversity.
I believe people shouldn’t be forced to abide by anyone else’s religion.
I believe non-American human beings have as much value as American ones.
I believe generosity is greater than greed, compassion better than contempt, and kindness superior to derision.
I believe there is enough in this world for everyone: enough food, enough money, enough room, enough care—if we unleash our creativity and unclench our fists.
I’m not sure how these ideas became radical, though it seems to have happened in the last few years.
I grew up being taught they were just part of being a decent human being.
I grew up believing that loving my neighbor as myself, meant that I actually worked for their welfare as much as my own.
I was taught that caring for the least in the world, was the measure of my devotion to God.
I thought that inalienable rights of other people were supposed to be a priority as a decent participant in the world.
I don’t think I’m alone.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that most people reside here in this place alongside me: the desire for compassion and diversity and equality and justice; that these things aren’t fringe ideologies or extremist positions—but simply the best way to be human.
I think most people want more humanity, not less.
I think the vast middle is exhausted by the cruelty of these days.
That these aspirations seem radical to some people, is probably an alarm that they’ve moved so far into the extremes of their fortified ideological bunkers and been so poisoned by the propaganda, that normal now seems excessive, that equality now seems oppressive, that goodness feels reckless.
Maybe the problem is, these people are so filled with fear for those who are different, so conditioned to be at war with the world, so indoctrinated into a white nationalistic religion of malice—that they’ve lost sight of what being a human being looks like anymore.
I am pretty sure that I don’t represent the “radical Left,” but the vast, disparate, compassionate, humane Middle; people who are not threatened by someone else’s presence, who do not see another person’s gain as their loss, who don’t worship a Caucasian, American god.
I suppose humanity feels radical to inhumane people.
In that case, I’ll gladly be here in my extremism.
How to Contact Me
Address:
Inchul Suh, Ph. D.
Zimpleman College of Business
Drake University, 2507 University Ave., Des Moines, IA 50311, USA
E-mail: isuh@drake.edu
Phone: 515-271-4177
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this site are strictly those of the author of this website. The contents of this website have not been reviewed or approved by Drake University.