Welcome to my weekly reading recommendations version of Annalytical. Don’t worry, if you prefer my sappy sentences about the meaning of life, those posts will continue.
If I’m being honest, it felt weird to smash all that sincere stuff in with the news and my reading list. There is a time and place for everything, as the Good Book says.
This post is the time and place for the news that has kept me scrolling and Googling late into the night. Believe it or not, even though I don’t write the news anymore, I still crave it. (more on that in my next sappy post).
Here’s the news you can use this week and why it matters to pay attention.
News you can use
Here’s how this will work: I’ll list a news event, and then I’ll provide a variety of links (with the native headline) from various news sources. I will not share the same sources for every story or favor specific sources over others. You may not respect or read every publication whose reporting I share here. That’s fine.
I want folks to see how headlines and angles of stories do, indeed, vary from news outlet to news outlet.
I won’t tell you which one is “the most right.” I want you, dear reader, to get your news from a variety of sources. Some of y’all are stubborn, so I’m providing a smorgasbord to pique your appetite for a variety of sources.
I’ll then briefly explain why the news event matters and also drop in a few other interesting links to other things related to the news event that I think you might like.
Yes, I do spend too much time on the internet. I’m hoping to maybe turn this pile of information into something folks can use and apply. Without further adieu:
*OJ Simpson dies of cancer at 76
the headlines:
OJ Simpson, former football star acquitted of murder, dies at 76, ABC News
O.J. Simpson, whose murder trial riveted and divided the world, dies at 76, the Los Angeles Times
Why it matters
I don’t feel like I need to tell you why it matters. We as a culture love to take note when a celebrity dies—no matter how infamous, controversial or horrifying of a history they left behind.
If you don’t know about OJ, here’s the news footage from the infamous white Ford Bronco freeway chase.
“If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
I’m not always a fan of historical recreations of real events, but this TV series was really well-done and captured the angst that came with the public opinion on the verdict, which closely followed racial lines.
Why ya gotta make it about race? Because it matters, and the ripple of public opinion on the OJ verdict revealed a lot about the state of race in 90s America.
If you dare, read this: OJ Simpson: an eternal symbol of racial division – or has America moved on? (2017), The Guardian
*former President and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump endorses the “God Bless the USA Bible”
the headlines:
What is the 'God Bless the USA Bible'? The $60 Bible Trump and Lee Greenwood are selling, USA Today
Trump’s Newest Venture? A $60 Bible., The New York Times
The Christian reaction to Trump’s Bible endorsement goes deeper than you think, CNN
Why it matters
If you needed a clear sign that Trump really is using evangelicalism to bolster his campaign, this is it. But honestly you should have been able to see it before then. I digress…
If you haven’t watched Trump’s video announcing this partnership, please click here to watch it now on YouTube.
The “God Bless the USA Bible” is simply a copy of the King James Bible that also includes copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I beg you to please think about the implications of a presidential candidate promoting such a product containing such texts.
See why this matters?
In the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, capitol riot, I stumbled upon this little project of Lee Greenwood that wholly confused me. Greenwood started selling the “God Bless the USA” Bible in the wake of the insurrection, and the timing was just too perfect.
If you haven’t listened to Straight White American Jesus’ podcast series about Christianity and Jan. 6, you really need to listen to it. The series is called “Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation.” This is recommended listening, dear reader.
But if listening to multiple hours about this topic just isn’t your thing, you could also read one of these books as a primer:
“Jesus and John Wayne” by Kristen DuMez (subscribe to her Substack)
“Preparing for War” by Bradley Onishi
“White Evangelical Racism” by Anthea Butler
“American Crusade” by Andrew Seidel
Listening to Charismatic Revival Fury is heavy, but these reads are heavier. Promise.
I was writing and reporting about Greenwood’s Bible venture back in 2021. I had heard then what we know now: there was a concerted effort to keep Greenwood from using any HarperCollins translations of the Bible (think: the New International Version, which many 90s church kids grew up reading).
Instead, Greenwood used the King James Version, which is under no copyright, giving him the freedom to use it instead of one of the easier to read translations that are owned by big publishers like HarperCollins, which also owns the Christian publishing group Zondervan.
The positive view of Trump and his courting of Christianity (or possibly fornicating with?) is not unanimous among Christians. The sheer fact that a group of Christian authors worked together to keep HarperCollins from getting involved in this new version of the Bible tells me this is true.
Where the proceeds of these Bible sales will go doesn’t matter to me in the context of “why it matters.” It matters because we are a country that claims religious freedom and we have a presidential candidate who appears to be using the passion of the Christian right to fuel his campaign and his popularity.
*two Maine lawmakers blamed the state’s deadliest mass shooting on abortion rights
the headlines:
Lawmakers sanctioned for saying Lewiston shooting was divine punishment for abortion expansions, Maine Public
Maine Legislature advances abortion, gender care shield bill after heated debate, Portland Press Herald
Maine Republican blames mass shooting on law expanding abortion access, The Hill
Why it matters
What’s happening to Americans’ reproductive rights is worth paying attention to. However, I am not an expert in those issues and I will not pretend to be.
What I want to contribute to the narrative around this story is far-right conservatives and prominent religious leaders alike have been linking disasters and abortion (or the gays or alcohol or marijuana or gambling or [INSERT THING HERE]) for centuries.
It’s not just Christians, too. Muslim, Jewish and Hindu religious leaders have done it too. And that’s just the list of religions I’ve written about that have flirted with nationalism and religious identity.
Here are a few prominent American examples from the 21st Century:
Falwell: blame abortionists, feminists and gays, The Guardian
Religious figures blame LGBT+ people for coronavirus, Reuters
Forget Global Warming, Hurricane Sandy Was Caused by the Gays, Vice
The point is, I want you to think about what people are saying and consider if the same rhetoric has been used before. You may be surprised what lessons our history holds.
A note:
If you enjoyed this take on the news, let me know. If you didn’t like it, let me know that as well. If you know someone with an interesting perspective on things you think I would enjoy interviewing for my podcast, please let me know via email to abeahm1215@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading. Keep wandering.
~Anna