Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

‘There’s a Future…’

Posted on June 5, 2022 by JMN

A comment to a recent post here (https://ethicaldative.com/2022/06/01/pledge-of-resistance/) states: “People kill people. Not guns, cars or anything else. People need help and they don’t get it. Our society decided that inclusion is more important than helping people and/ or making … Continue reading →

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Women Irritated the Painter. Oh Dear

Posted on June 2, 2022 by JMN

John Elderfield, who curated the last big de Kooning survey for the Museum of Modern Art, said that originally the Woman series upset different people in different ways… Some were dismayed by the vulgar treatment of the female form… Elderfield’s … Continue reading →

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Pledge of Resistance

Posted on June 1, 2022 by JMN

I pledge resistance to the flag of the AR-15s of America, and to the mythology for which it stands. Wounded nation under Fox, indefensible, with liberty and justice for some. In the summer of 2008, the Supreme Court decided District … Continue reading →

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Language Is a Weapon, Too. Keep It Sharp

Posted on May 29, 2022 by JMN

… Any honest accounting shows that more of the blame for these senseless rampages lays at the feet of bought-and-paid-for politicians who have blocked any reasonable gun control measures in order to retain their own hold on power. (Kara Swisher, … Continue reading →

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To Whom It Concerns

Posted on May 27, 2022 by JMN

Hey, you. I’ll love you every kind of always. (c) 2022 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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The Hardest French Word to Pronounce for a Texan

Posted on May 26, 2022 by JMN

L’aurore (the dawn) “Low roar” is the best we can do. Governor Abbott, born kids have a right to life, too. (c) 2022 JMN — EthcalDative. All rights reserved

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A Good Outing: Roger Angell (1920-2022)

Posted on May 24, 2022 by JMN

“It is foolish and childish, on the face of it, to affiliate ourselves with anything so insignificant and patently contrived and commercially exploitative as a professional sports team,” he wrote in his book “Five Seasons” (1977). “What is left out … Continue reading →

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Cry the Belovèd Reader

Posted on May 10, 2022 by JMN

“Mandible Wishbone Solvent” by Asiya Wadud (Poetry, March 2022). Pass 3 of 3. Previous comment: https://ethicaldative.com/2022/04/25/mandible-wishbone-solvent-pass-1-of-3/https://ethicaldative.com/2022/05/01/mandible-wishbone-solvent-pass-2-of-3/ You. Be. Here. It’s an affirming imperative to exist, or be situate, in the speaker’s space-time. It’s addressed to “tilt” — twice “tender” now … Continue reading →

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In Praise of Walls

Posted on May 8, 2022 by JMN

I’ve admired artist Outside Authority’s (www.outsideauthor.wordpress.com) lyrical renderings of UK churches and churchyards for some time. It’s stimulating to see a similar devotion to these spaces reflected in this Guardian article. “Eight hundred years ago, pagan sites – springs, wells … Continue reading →

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Backlight and Hazy Music

Posted on May 7, 2022 by JMN

I’m a fan of Schiele as well as of interiors. What’s interesting to me in this precocious painting is the backlighting of the subject and the skillful rendering of hazy, natural light suffusing the room. The uniform NW-to-SE directionality of … Continue reading →

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