Professor, the Soviet Union was Communist , not Socialist . Really ? So they did not support the Democratic Party over the Republican Party, then? Uh. I … wait. What? I don’t think they cared. [Professor laughs]. [Professor catches breath. Laughs again. Harder.] Can you tell me, then, what the initials of the Soviet Union… Read more »
A Memoir by Lucas J. Mather I spent virtually the entire day ending or starting most sentences with some variant of “in my view,” or “that’s [this is is] just me and my tradition,” peppered with the occasional, “I’m not saying I’m correct,” and the flamboyant, “I would never want to force that onto anyone.”… Read more »
by Lucas J. Mather Asked if I was a “Trump supporter,” I said no. (A normal person would have added “actually.” You know, to fit in. Like having a mask over your chin in Ralph’s). Oh you voted for Biden ??, my interlocutor said, excitedly. I said, noooo. Oh, third party? Huh? You voted third… Read more »
It’s Amazing What You Can See Just By Lookin By Lucas J. Mather Class this week : I placed a Constitution on the Doc Camera, and it shined on the board for all to see. And I did a brief overview of Articles 1 through 7, with special focus on Articles 1-3. And the word… Read more »
By Lucas J. Mather, From the Archives I received an email from the Philosophy Dept at LMU that amounts to institutional pressure to inflate grades and lower academic standards or lose future teaching contracts . Timed right before finals . Here’s the text of my reply email: “Dear xxxx, I very much appreciate your candor.… Read more »
Dear TRP guests, readers, listeners, friends and family, In Season 1 of the hit 1970’s show “Mary Tyler Moore,” there is a Christmas episode. I lost count of the number of times that they said or displayed the words “Merry Christmas.” I didn’t once hear the words “Happy Holidays.” It’s a snap shot into the… Read more »
By Lucas J. Mather / Strange story in my office hours: (*”office hours” , if you don’t know, are what professors call time with students outside the class, ideally in an office –this is in my office at LMU, a liberal Jesuit university in a liberal, rich area of Los Angeles). Ok, the brief, strange… Read more »
by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D. A predictable self made trap of stiff gun control advocates when I discuss the issue in person. They’ll ask: Why do you need to be armed ? They pretend incredulity. It absolutely is pretend . I’m not sure if it’s purposeful or not . Maybe. Doesn’t really matter. They… Read more »
A Short Story at Barnes & Noble, By Lucas J. Mather If the story is untold , why would I buy the book? I said to the clerk. [Me at Barnes & Noble] This looks like the story *is* told . As I flip through it. But , if I was in a hurry ,… Read more »
Happy Advent, by Prof. Lucas J. Mather, APU Political Science Department And why do you think this group of philosophers are called The Pre-Socratics, the professor asked, holding up an Oxford University Press book by the same title. A girl raised her hand straight up, and said, because they came before Socrates. Okay, the professor… Read more »