Canaanite gods and ancient divine kingship still shape modern theocratic creep in America. From Baal and Yahweh’s merger to the authoritarian roots of Christian nationalism, ancient structures of obedience and divine sovereignty are being turned into law and policy.
Public conversation in the United States has grown more strained in recent years. Political, cultural, and religious differences now shape how people speak, listen, and respond to one another. In that environment, organizations focused on dialogue have taken on a more visible role. One of the more established among them is Resetting the Table.
A building once stood at 1 Place Pigalle whose history mirrors the restless evolution of the neighborhood itself. It passed from atelier to spectacle: transformed into the themed restaurant l’Abbaye de Thélème (a knowing nod to François Rabelais and his rule “Fay ce que vouldras” – Do what thou wilt). During the First World War it served as a meeting place for the French League for Women’s Rights and hosted charity sales for soldiers. In the years that followed, it emerged as a vital hub for the Black American jazz community in Paris, before shifting again under the German Occupation into the circus-themed nightclub Le Chapiteau. In its final incarnation, it became the exotic striptease venue Les Naturistes. Along the way, it bore several other names—Restaurant Albert, La Noce, Chez O’dett, Le Coup de Patte—each reflecting a different moment in the building’s life as well as the city around it.
Montmartre stands above Paris as a place where myth, blood, and vision converge. Once sacred ground, later a crucible of revolution and bohemian life, it became the stage for Les Nabis—artists who rejected imitation in favor of color, symbol, and inner meaning. Their work marked a turning point, where art no longer reflected the world, but reimagined it.
Reality may be less a thing than a description. From Plato’s cave to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, language, symbols, and the brain shape the world humans believe they see.
Contemporary media and entertainment have largely reduced the Kama Sutra to a catalog of elaborate sexual positions, but the classical text is concerned with the art of desire and the disciplines attending pleasure. It informs aesthetics, psychology, and the power to shape intimacy and culture. Far from a mere manual, it offers a disciplined vision of conscious pleasure that refines perception, deepens connection, and contributes to a balanced life.
