30 Points of View

History Lesson < 500 Words “Complexity of the Yankee Twang”

Being a native of Massachusetts, the “Bawston Accent” is something I hear about from outsiders constantly. I have never been accused of having one (at least not a significant one), but I can definitely hear the “twang” in the voices of others. Behind the “Yankee Twang” is a history that ...

Ramya

Robert sat motionless on a black vinyl drum throne the tips of his drum sticks resting against the head of the snare. He lifted a stick above his ear and spun it between two fingers. Robert's mother had gone out and the house was dead quiet, he was almost reluctant ...

Go Ahead, Push that Button; The Hippies Say It’s Ok

Since I started teaching courses on generational theory a few years ago, I've become something of a generational, um, enthusiast. Let's put it mildly and say that I have distinct, inalienable opinions on the generations of Americans alive today. G.I.s? They pushed us forward, for better, and often for worse. ...

Your Opinions Are BS!

Do you ever find yourself coming to a conclusion about somebody you've never met personally? Do you ever fear things that, logically, just don't make sense (as in, "I'll give you anything, just put the clown down!") The reason is the same reason Donald Trump returned from bankruptcy, ...

A victimless crime

"But Mooooommm, I don't understand why Dad started throwing things around and started yelling at me. I wasn't doing anything. Really. Really, really." "I know, sweetie. I know. It isn't your fault. Not his fault either." They stopped in front of the door, a sleepy-eyed toddler, and her mom, looking far older ...

It’s Not That Complicated

The world is one big shade of gray. The longer humans live, the more we evolve, the more complicated things seem to get. In this country alone, Americans struggle every day with complex issues on large and small scales – health care, seemingly endless conflicts with faraway nations, how to ...

I Love You, Me Neither

He likes her. But she, she likes men with a probability of jail time and the possibility of no parole. She is in search of such inamoratos not with the intention of her mind or the guidance of her heart, but through the raging power of an id untouched by the ...

My Son, the Jihadist

“I have become a Somali you could say,” he wrote in the December e-mail message. “I hear bullets, I dodge mortars, I hear nasheeds” — Islamic songs — “and play soccer. Sometimes I live in the bush with camels, sometimes I live the five-star life. Sometimes I walk for miles ...

My Loose Thread Over Erin Scarum, but Definitely Not “Normal” Over “Straight”

I’m finding this month’s theme, “It’s complicated,” very complicated. As in, I don’t know what to say about this, at a loss for words. And see? That's my problem right there. It’s hard not to apply, as duly instructed by our editor (as you may or may not know), myself ...

Irrational Season

This is Kim Roth's first guest post on 30POV. The speech below was written for and performed at an advent service this past December. This is the irrational season, when love blooms bright and wild, had Mary been filled with reason, there’d have been no room for the child. ~ Madeleine L’Engle I’ve never been ...