Education Week Magazine described Critical Race Theory as an academic concept embracing the core idea that racism is a social construct; that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies. The...
Recent Commentaries
Hardly a political coincidence
A close long-time personal friend has a problem getting his letters-to-the-editor published for two reasons - first, the editor won't print anything longer than 200 words and getting a meaningful political message across in less than that is difficult and secondly, my...
A very appropriate quote
No blog for me on this Memorial Day, just a most appropriate quote - "The brave die never, though they sleep in dust, their courage nerves a thousand living men." MINOT J. SAVAGE
To our graduating seniors
Today I want to congratulate our graduating seniors, and at the same time offer a few insights I wish someone had given me when I graduated high school a million years ago. And the first of those insights begins with the best definition of success I’ve ever come...
When it’s all said and done
There are so many aspects of the climate change debate it’s impossible to detail all the arguments; so instead of looking for the last word, I thought I would try to start a conversation. Many believe the world faces economic and social adjustments on a scale never...
Ask the right question
When solutions to complex societal issues aren’t readily apparent people will in many cases outsource their critical thinking to their favorite talking head on TV and then parrot that opinion. But issues such as the opioid epidemic, teenage suicide, police reform and...
Mama Kali & N’gurro
Last week I wrote about a fable and its moral—that gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail. But this week’s I decided to relate a true story that has no moral nor even an underlying message. It’s simply a fascinating tale about Kenya and the...
A Journey, not a destination
A fable is a short story that illustrates a moral lesson. The plot of a fable always includes a simple conflict and a resolution, followed by a maxim. And perhaps the most enduring of all fables were those told by the Greek slave and storyteller, Aesop, who lived...
Folktale or Reality?
In 1837 Hans Christian Andersen wrote a folktale about an Emperor living in a great city who was exceedingly fond of new clothes. Life was good and the people of the city were happy. Every day strangers would arrive and among them were two swindlers who let it be...
A case for common sense
When politicians talk about taxing big corporations, they only people they fool are the gullible and uniformed. Corporations do not pay taxes, people pay taxes. A corporation’s treasurer may write and sign the check, but the money that goes to the IRS comes first...