Davidson Loehr

The author’s (my) life was unusual: musician, combat photographer in Vietnam (I’m 78), photography studio owner in Ann Arbor, carpenter, woodworker, student: M.A. in “Methods of studying religion” and Ph.D. in theology, the philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and Wittgenstein’s language philosophy from the University of Chicago. A year as a staff hospital chaplain (while writing my dissertation), then 23 years as a Unitarian minister. A Fellow in the Jesus Seminar since 1992, and now active in the International Big History Association — present papers at all our biennial meetings around the world. Religious/spirit, but heretical — a character trait that goes back to age 1 when I first walked. About half the 97,000-word book is taken up with a wild variety of experiences in my 43 months in the Army, which included remarkable experiences, with General Westmoreland, as The Vietnam Entertainment Officer (Martha Raye, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, Jennifer Jones, others), then I felt cowardly and ashamed because my Officer Candidate School classmates were all in the field, and one had just been given the Silver Star and Purple Heart. I knew that if I returned home without having experienced war, I wouldn’t want to live with myself. Some poignant and rare experiences in the 7 months as combat photographer and press officer. Some hilarious, many very touching, some quite sad and poignant — and always with the YOUR TURN sections to direct attention back to the reader’s life. From very liberal groundings in religion, thinking outside the box, etc., I have grown to prefer conservative politics and liberal religion. I think, and expand on the idea, that liberal ideology since the mid-60’s has lost its soul and its mind, and may not have much that is healthy to offer the larger world. While this doesn’t take many pages, it’s a memorable/controversial part of the book. My understanding of the whole subject of “Religion” is also … well, it’s good. The heart of any real religion is its answer to our two most fundamental existential questions: Who, at my best, am I? and How should I live, so that when I look back I can be glad I lived that way?