Miguel A. Guanipa

The Curiously Discreet Candidate

It would appear that the 2008 presidential elections will most likely hinge not on the stances candidates have assured their voters they have publicly taken on any given issue, but on the stances voters hope their candidates are already sworn to in secret. The correct assumption is that wise candidates understandably avoid revealing their most deeply held convictions to the general public, lest they become vulnerable to a barrage of tailored made smear tactics from the dominant fringe on either side of the political aisle, and are effectively rendered unelectable.

On Faith

There are things in life we are incapable of comprehending in practice as they seem obstinately intent on dwelling in the province of theory. And some things can only be properly understood when they finally find their home in the bosom of practice. Such is the nature of Faith.

IMUS, Take II

I confess; I typically ranked as more than an irregular listener of the Imus morning program. My sensitivity meter was calibrated in such a way that when I listened to him, the needle typically hovered between the "mildly annoying-yet funny" and the "gratuitously shocking but hilarious" markers.

God and Nancy Pelosi

In the delightful, yet heart-rending film Life is Beautiful, director Roberto Benigni--who also plays the leading role--is being discipled by an old friend on the high calling of a being a waiter. "God serves men, but he is not the servant of men" instructs wisely the old sage.

A Cheerleader of Hopelessness

Reading Richard Dawkins' comments about the underreported plight of nonbelievers in the U.S. gives one the impression that America is a country where drinking fountains for "Atheists Only" and draconian laws prohibiting them from exercising their freedoms of choice, speech, and "religion" (pardon the oxymoron) are practically the norm.