Category Archives: Spirit of communication

A Googolplex of Reactions as AI Pauses to Chat

This was first published in Phronesis in Pieces at billschmitt.substack.com on April 11, 2023. There’s a sweet scent of progress lofting in one corner of the polarized public square. Although many policy arenas have become musty with stale conversations based … Continue reading

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Acting Our Age: The ‘Generation Gap’ Regenerates

7 min ago This commentary first appeared in “Phronesis in Pieces” at billschmitt.substack.com. Please take a look at this publication on Substack. Current political discourse tends to spotlight society’s divisions based on race and gender. Get ready to deal more … Continue reading

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Giving Up Virtue Signals for Lent

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Catholic Church’s liturgy for Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22, 2023), other than ashes we will wear on our foreheads, is Christ’s warning against virtue signaling. People of today’s secular culture, seeking to fill their inner … Continue reading

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Don’t Be Resigned to Quiet Quitting

This commentary first appeared in “Phronesis in Pieces” at billschmitt.substack.com on Feb. 7, 2023. For a phenomenon whose name implies otherwise, “quiet quitting” sends a loud and clear message to all of us sharing responsibility for society’s well-being. We need … Continue reading

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On World Communications: Love is News We Can Use

An updated version of this commentary will be posted today as a special edition of “Phronesis in Pieces” at billschmitt.substack.com. Pope Francis, posting his 2023 World Communications Day message, has reinforced the sense of urgency and purpose he consistently connects … Continue reading

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A Toast to Dr. King and New Wineskins

A January 16 reflection from Michael McLoughlin in America magazine talked about the need for new wineskins that can hold new wine—in particular, the wine of change and redemption which Christ offers us in the New Testament. The piece pointed … Continue reading

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Priest’s Word to the Wise: Love to Study, Study to Love

This book review first appeared in The Tablet, newspaper of the Brooklyn Diocese, on Dec. 3, 2022. “Theology” can be an off-putting, academic word. But a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn has emerged on a mission to enrich Catholics’ … Continue reading

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Game of Kings, King of Games

First published in “Phronesis in Pieces” at billschmitt.substack.com on Dec. 19, 2022. The world of political reporting groans with a desperate need for graduates of the Shelby Lyman School of Journalism. This is a problem because there is no Shelby … Continue reading

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Illuminated by Gaslighting: The Word of the Year

This commentary was published first in my Substack publication, “Phronesis in Pieces”–found at billschmitt.substack.com. If you would like to see more of that twice-monthly mix of news, commentaries, and resources for the pursuit of virtuous wisdom, contact me at billgerards@gmail.com … Continue reading

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The Abstract Arts, Framing Reality

Published 10/28/22 at billschmitt.substack.com, reprinted here with some modifications. Previously on Substack … We talked about the “Brights” as a movement of liberal atheists who introduced themselves in a New York Times commentary in 2003 and continued promoting their doctrines of illumination. Those ideas … Continue reading

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