Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Two countries. Two governments. Both unpopular. And one of them will have a test to meet in less than two weeks’ time. On Tuesday, November 2, Americans will elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one third of the 100-member Senate. It is widely believed that the Democrats will lose some or all of the substantial majority … >>
No one is sure who first said it, but most of us will agree that “Britain and America are two countries divided by a common language”. To Americans, Britain is a strange place where fish have fingers, cars have bonnets and people collect children. Or are we the strange ones for putting the baby carriage in the trunk instead of … >>
It’s one of those clichés about Americans that won’t go away: the idea that many of us have guns. Hollywood has done more to further this notion than any political lobby, any organization of outdoorsmen or any rap gangsters, so I won’t blame you for thinking it’s true. I also won’t blame you because it is true — in the … >>
It was my first real encounter with the Chinese. Sure, I’d known a few Chinese people; I’d learned some Chinese history in college; I’d read a lot about China in the news; and Chinese food had always been my favorite. But it was a different experience altogether to go to the Chinese embassy with my visa application in hand — … >>
From time to time, we need to take a moment to recognize the unsung heroes who keep our society functioning the way it should. They work with untiring dedication. They are willing to put the greater good ahead of their own well-being. Without them, everything would collapse. I’m talking, of course, about those who teach, and fight for, proper punctuation, … >>
From November 1966 to December 1967, a number of people in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, claimed to have been frightened by a large, man-like creature with glowing red eyes and wings. As they drove near it, it rose up and followed them in the air. A reporter called it Mothman. No one knows exactly what Mothman looked like, since the … >>
As we give up more and more of our privacy online, it’s inevitable that our employers will become more and more interested in our private lives. But should they be able to control what we say? This question came up a week ago, when The Washington Post suspended one of its sports columnists, Mike Wise, for something he’d written on … >>
Victory was in the air, and it seemed the appropriate thing to do. George W. Bush, perhaps nostalgic for the service he’d abandoned in 1971, wore a military pilot’s uniform as he stepped out of a fighter plane onto the deck of an aircraft carrier. The ship was full of troops returning to California after they’d defeated the Iraqi army … >>
Every classroom contains a few kids who are bored and like to cause trouble. When I was in school, our teachers would threaten them by saying, “This will go on your permanent record!” The threat was effective: none of us wanted to be prevented from going to college or from getting a job. It was also credible: we had no … >>
It seemed like one of those news stories that would come and go quickly — but the media and the politicians aren’t letting it die. Two weeks ago, the city of New York agreed to let a private organization build a $100 million mosque and Islamic community center in Manhattan. This in itself is nothing unusual. People from 190 countries … >>