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Archive: Southern Skeptic
Am I Baha'i?
Walking around the Shrine of the Bab, Bahaism’s second holiest shrine, I was amazed at the broad reach of the religion.
By David Grant | June 25, 2008; 06:18 AM ET | Comments (54)
Israeli Standard Time
Waiting to clear security in the airport in Israel, I was losing time, joy and opportunity.
By David Grant | May 10, 2008; 04:04 PM ET | Comments (1)
Breaking Down the Abwaab
When I met Doug, he was talking about being interviewed on Lebanese TV. Yeah, his Arabic is that good. So when a friend of mine passed along a piece of poetry (and even that title really doesn’t describe Doug’s master...
By David Grant | April 18, 2008; 03:37 PM ET | Comments (0)
Looking at Norris
There is so much to say, I imagine. Today is about remembrance, recognition, and community. It is about pain and grief, joy and love, anger and forgiveness. And yet today is as inscrutable as the last April 16, a moment...
By David Grant | April 16, 2008; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (0)
Courage to Tell the Truth
Here was someone moving beyond the blather because what mattered was learning, was moving forward, was trying, as best he could, to tell the truth.
By David Grant | March 5, 2008; 11:13 AM ET | Comments (0)
From Virginia Tech, with Love, Sorrow, Despair
Here we are again. Here I am again. Nothing but the darkness of my room at Virginia Tech and the terrible, burning knowledge of life taken with such incredible violence.
By David Grant | February 15, 2008; 08:25 AM ET | Comments (50)
Keeping Score
The e-mail messages that came pouring into my inbox yesterday afternoon turned out to be true: William Jefferson Clinton did in fact grace the humble hamlet of Blacksburg, Va., this evening....
By David Grant | February 9, 2008; 11:47 PM ET | Comments (3)
America the Romantic
If we, college students, are going to rekindle the sort of ebullient optimism that I believe has made America so great (perhaps even in spite of itself), we've got one great, eternal question: Where's the love?
By David Grant | January 20, 2008; 11:24 AM ET | Comments (2)
Note to Self: Just Shut Up
There is a sense of quiet wonder that I have felt creeping over me since my return to the U.S.A.
By David Grant | January 15, 2008; 09:45 PM ET | Comments (1)
Welcome Home?
I feel for the immigrant populations trying to scratch their lives out in Western nations. I can see why people turn in on their communities, strengthen their identities.
By David Grant | December 20, 2007; 12:53 PM ET | Comments (1)
How Hard Did #21 Hit You?
The question after Sean Taylor's death is the same after Virginia Tech: If the event really touched you, how are you “moving on” differently?
By David Grant | December 4, 2007; 02:52 PM ET | Comments (1)
Cairo's Ordinary Desperation
While I was trying to get a little memento of “My First Protest,” he wanted me to, please, back off, so he wouldn’t have to show this foreigner where the limits were.
By David Grant | December 3, 2007; 01:51 PM ET | Comments (0)
Virginia Tech's Ordinary Inspiration
Liviu Librescu inspired us because he showed us that ordinary people can do what is right and necessary and courageous.
By David Grant | November 30, 2007; 06:35 AM ET | Comments (1)
Dashing Through the Desert
So it was much to my surprise that I was belting out Christmas carols in the back of a bus bound for Cairo this weekend, tra-la-la-ing without a care.
By David Grant | November 28, 2007; 10:27 AM ET | Comments (0)
Meeting the Faithful
What was born out on this day and in my subsequent interviews was the sheer energy of the young corps of Egyptian journalists.
By David Grant | November 21, 2007; 04:56 AM ET | Comments (2)
A Theory of Everything, Dude
When you’ve got a conviction and a lifestyle that suit you, do you have the courage to follow it through?
By David Grant | November 16, 2007; 01:46 AM ET | Comments (2)
My Pro-Islamic Crusade
My crusade will be one of highlighting how beautiful the Muslim world is, how textured and how interesting.
By David Grant | November 13, 2007; 05:27 PM ET | Comments (1)
Getting Hairy
If you can get over the thought of Christopher Hitchens receiving a “back, sack, and crack” wax then this is a good example of the West’s flawed concept of girl power. (Hitchens put himself through American cosmetic dentistry and general...
By David Grant | November 12, 2007; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
Proximity and Principle, Life and Death
Don’t return evil for evil and let the light of God illuminate through the holiness of His believers.
By David Grant | October 28, 2007; 05:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
Judeo-Christo-Fascism Awareness Week?
What our country needs to defend itself from is the onslaught of religious provocateurs.
By David Grant | October 24, 2007; 05:42 AM ET | Comments (4)
Islam, Science and Me
Islam is an interesting religion when it comes to arguing about science.
By David Grant | October 19, 2007; 01:02 PM ET | Comments (9)
Where are the Cedars?
It was lying on my back on the desert floor of Wadi Rum this summer when I got caught up in what is, for me, a surprising conversation. One of my Jordan-exploring compatriots mentioned the fact that, looking up at...
By David Grant | October 16, 2007; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
It's almost Talmudic!
Politicians have a long history of garbling the message when they get in front of the camera. Like this. Or like this. And last but not least, like this. And then somebody has a little insecurity issue with Evangelical voters,...
By David Grant | October 2, 2007; 01:36 PM ET | Comments (1)
Trust in God?
So year 50, day 2 of the "In God We Trust" era is almost said and done. As the afore-tagged article attests, the placement of such a phrase on my national currency crops up in debates over “just how high...
By David Grant | October 2, 2007; 01:07 PM ET | Comments (9)
iTruth
I couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback by this article in today’s Washington Post. Apparently American churches have found enough loose change in the pews to drop $8.1 billion on audio and projection equipment in the last year. Oh,...
By David Grant | September 25, 2007; 11:46 AM ET | Comments (2)
On Chains
“Look,” he said, offering a laminated sheet for my approval. “You need to buy one of these. It has Jesus, you see, here, at the top, and almost all the Saints.” If he was disappointed when I demurred he didn’t...
By David Grant | September 23, 2007; 02:50 AM ET | Comments (2)
Ahlan wa sahlan from Egypt
Ahlan wa sahlan, or hello and welcome, from the Arab Republic of Egypt. I'm here studying for the next four months. It’s the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, otherwise known as Ramadan. It’s been an interesting few days, to...
By David Grant | September 20, 2007; 02:58 PM ET | Comments (3)
