Nero fiddled; Rome burned. Are we following his playbook? Our Congress fiddled—at enormous cost to our nation. To date we’ve lost face, we’ve lost status and we’ve lost faith. Hope has been our long suit; we have to search to recover it—but
To Be Citizens, Not Subjects
Editor: Egyptians want tomorrow – a new day – and they want it now. They want to be citizens – in charge of their own destinies and the destiny of their nation. It was the American dream over 200 years ago –
Recipe for Disaster
Editor: The Arizona debacle is a tragedy that touches all of us. A cross section of people engaged in a discussion of public affairs in a public space – the quintessential democratic experience – were shot down by a deranged young man
Response’s to Sondra’s 12/19/10 Letter to the Editor
Find the original op-ed piece here. Free to succeed Editor: Sondra Myers states in her Dec. 19 letter: “Many of us abhor the continuation of tax relief to the very richest people in our nation and we are right to abhor
Pragmatist acts to avert disaster
Editor: Compromise is a highly charged word. Is it the essence of reason and the key to democracy – or is it a sellout of values – a capitulation? In fact we use the word both ways. The art of compromise
Lights in Tunnel Bolster Hope
We talk about lights at the end of the tunnel, but nothing is more rewarding than a little illumination within the tunnel. On Labor Day, I saw two such lights. I was especially grateful because this is a week laden
Others
On Friday, May 21, Sr. Adrian Barrett, a model of compassion and empathy, received the Others Award from the Salvation Army at its gala 125th anniversary celebration. I read of the award in a May 2 article in the Times-Tribune
Blame game lacks limits
Editor: The pre-election blame game is on. My only hope is that people of all parties or no party will understand it for what is. Do Americans really believe that the failed terror attempt on Times Square was Obama’s fault?
Twisted meanings sign of decline
In a memorable ancient history college course we examined the rise and fall of various ancient civilizations. It became clear that there were commonalities among them – patterns of growth and symptoms of decline. One notable symptom of decline was
Public can’t tolerate culture of corruption
Do we know how corrosive the culture of corruption is? Call it a global virus or a weapon of mass destruction; call it a cancer. It’s that bad. To be sure it is an enemy of democracy. When it infests