Commentary: Vote by mail is an idea whose time has come
By Paul Rozycki How do you want to vote this year? No, I don’t mean whether you like Democrats, Republicans, Joe Biden, or Donald Trump. I mean, how do you actually want to cast your ballot? It seems simple, but there are a lot of choices. It’s been done many ways Voting: It’s the most basic ritual of our elections, and it’s at the heart of what we call the democratic process. At one time, voting was done by voice vote in public,...
Commentary: We are NOT equally at risk for COVID-19. Racism makes all the difference
Editor’s Note: This essay is a response to a recent commentary by Dick Ramsdell posted here.We welcome the expression of divergent views and hope they will foster respectful discussion. It is reprinted from Woodside World, the newsletter of Woodside Church of Flint, where Pastor Conrad is senior minister. By Deborah Conrad This week, a white man regarded as a community leader here in Flint wrote about how important it is for...
Commentary: As the lockdowns end, the responsibility lies with us
By Dick Ramsdell Whether we call ourselves Children of God. lost souls, homo sapiens, or simply human beings, there are almost 8 billion of us on the small ball in space which we call Planet Earth, and we make up a veritable playground for what has emerged as our universal enemy: The Virus. It doesn’t care what country we live in, what our name is, what our title is, how much our family cares about us, how much money we have, what...
Commentary: Kent State at 50–no redemption for a failing America
By Jan Worth-Nelson I didn’t want to write this. I didn’t want to think about it. It was awful, and there was nothing good about it that I can think of. And with the state of the nation the worst of my lifetime and in my view bound to get worse, reflecting on the Kent State shootings, 50 years ago today, seems only an exercise in lacerating disillusionment in the compounding failures of my country. I wish it was more...
Coronavirus Diaries: Seven EVM writers report from their own lives
Editor’s Note: Like everyone else, all of East Village Magazine’s staff — none of whom are full-time employees and who juggle many other lives — have been sheltering in place since late March. We’ve stayed in touch by email and phone, and had one Zoom writers’ meeting where we rejoiced in seeing each other’s faces–from 10 different rooms, with 10 different sets of books, plants,...
Commentary: Maybe music helped Flint in 1918 — and arts and culture can do it for us now
By Rodney Lontine Arts and culture offer much-needed healing in difficult times The Community Music Association was founded by J. Dallas Dort during World War I in 1917. Both J. Dallas and his wife Nellie were accomplished musicians. He played the cello, and their Kearsley Street home in Flint was fitted with an Aeolian pipe organ he liked to play for guests. Though difficult to confirm, it’s likely the Dorts’ efforts to also maintain...
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