How does one even begin to write about the storming of the U. S. Capitol on January 6? Even as the riots were unfolding on television, I asked myself how to address the chaos—whether it was worth attempting a blog post in such an unsettled and unforgiving atmosphere. My initial reaction to the insurrection has … Continue reading Finding Our Way Back From the Brink
It’s embarrassing to realize I haven’t written a blog post for months now. I blame the pandemic. It’s ironic that I should even think to blame COVID-19 for my writer's block because a global pandemic is certainly worth a few whiny blog posts. And I’ve experienced many of the de rigueur indignities that fill blogging … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of the Pandemic Introvert
It’s been a while since I posted anything new on my blog. That fact is particularly ironic given that I am, like most everyone in the country, in lockdown with a ton of time on my hands. Strangely, I have found time to wipe down my door knobs and countertops like every 20 minutes. Now … Continue reading America Can Handle the Truth—As Scary As It Is
People who insist on backing their cars into parking spaces drive me nuts. On any given day, when I’m circling around the YMCA parking lot, I have to wait while some guy in a pickup the size of a Panzer tank backs into his spot. At that point, I remark to my wife something like, … Continue reading Against Caring
Details about the crime were all too familiar. On April 23rd, a young man in Sunnyvale, CA, steered his car into a group of pedestrians. Eight people were injured, three of them from one “south Asian” family. A 13-year-old girl was left in a coma, fighting for her life. Before long, reports emerged that the … Continue reading Brutalized Souls and the Epidemic of PTSD
The things you learn on Twitter. A couple of weeks ago, Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton and notable Twitter gadfly, tweeted that “Wall Street bonuses totaled $27.5 billion last year, which is more than 3 times the combined annual earnings of all American workers employed full-time at the federal minimum wage.” Now … Continue reading Paycheck Madness and the Shining City on the Hill
My older brother once remarked that social media is the largest social experiment in history—and that we won’t appreciate its impact for years. He’s a brilliant, scientifically-minded guy who observes life with the detachment of a benevolent deity. In his mid-60s, he enjoys an enviable serenity of mind. He doesn’t feel an urgency to adapt … Continue reading Twitter’s “Private” Rooms
The AR-15 rifle, with its unmistakable, nasty-looking contours has become the poster child of the gun debate. Gun control advocates demonize the rifle as much, I think, for its lethal appearance as for its ability to kill people. Meanwhile, gun enthusiasts and the NRA talk like they’d sooner lose limbs than part with their tricked-out … Continue reading Why I’ll Never Shoot Another AR-15
It had been more than six months since we’d seen this couple. My wife had been teaching abroad for a semester and during her absence I didn't go out much. Now that Barbara was back in the States, though, our social calendar was repopulated with evenings out like this one. We met at a favorite … Continue reading Rethinking the Whole Manhood Thing
When it comes to posting on my blog, I take my responsibility very seriously. I aim to post at least three times per week. I have a schedule that maps out five discrete but related content categories—or, as we call them in content marketing, pillars. I try to identify subjects that, while perhaps seen through … Continue reading The Delirious Art of Writing About Absolutely Nothing
