Promising site. Questionable politics.

Ethika Politka (EP) can be said to be a pro-Catholic/Christian site, and I like the topics discussed. Many of the contributors are young (under 40) and bright. What's a turn-off is its politics that seem to shyly creep to the front. Look here and here. In addition to that, despite the topics being discussed and the educational pedigree that some of its writers hold, is not very deep, if not deep at all. The commentary is borderline shallow.

From the first article (italics my emphasis) -

As academic institutions become more economically driven, Eagleton argued, their emphasis shifts more and more toward STEM fields. Scientific research offers tangible and monetary goods, while research in philosophy or English offers intangible benefits, if it offers benefits at all. Eagleton lays the blame for the humanities’ decline at the feet of capitalism: Education for its own sake stands no chance in a production economy.

The writer does not combat this accusation and with that silence I will take she agrees, at least to a certain extent.

The second (On Paul Ryan's visit to a Cleveland, Ohio community church) -

 This encounter, in turn, has animated him in the project on which he has embarked: a series of visits to inner-city neighborhoods across the country, accompanied by one journalist and one young filmmaker. The journalist has published two articles based on his experiences with and observations of Ryan (do not be deterred by the fact that he works for Buzzfeed: The stories are full of striking quotes and vignettes like the one with which I started this essay), and the filmmaker’s documentary is now available in its entirety on Youtube. These visits were guided by community activist Bob Woodson, who had helped organize the initial meeting in Cleveland and whom Ryan has taken on as a personal mentor.

The links within the second article are from CNN and Buzzfeed. Both left leaning, pro-welfare, "But what about the poor people?" sites. I have read the second Buzzfeed article and I'll say it's well written and deeply interesting (as someone who majored in sociology, with research interests in the urban poor, it immediately pulled me in). But it's horrid journalism because it gives no facts and appeals to the heart without any head (no not that head).  I mean, c'mon -

Because Democrats are spending hours with the poor? I'm not a GOP flag waver, but that stuff just makes my eyes roll in annoyance. This is like saying "[Insert GOP politics] is doing something rather unprecedented for a Republican. He is spending unchoreographed time with actual LGB people," on a fictional article about a supposed "conversion" to supporting gay "marriage" or "rights."

Nonetheless, I think EP is a site that is needed on the traditional Christian side of the internet: It brings up topics that are universal, classic and therefore always relevant, in a "cool" (the good kind) way. The graphic design - its header and banner -  is simple yet telling; the site layout is a bit confusing, though (I'm not sure if "channels" is the best way to divide different 'blogs' under names without any description). The writing is okay and its content leaves much to be desired. The lack of depth in its writing maybe due to the youthfulness of its writers. I'm not entirely sure, but it's a guess. Its heart, for the most part, is trying to point true north.

Ethika Politka - C+