If I were a social scientist studying human behavior, I’d want to understand why wealth tends to bestow status on people. Wealth has its uses, true.  But it has limitations, also. Being lost in the desert, would a lump of gold quench my thirst, heal my blistered feet, or provide a

Not long ago, a friend on Facebook posted a false comment. I responded with a Snopes link that refuted the statement. The friend shot back, “I don’t fact-check other people’s comments if I agree with them.” O-k-a-y. Good to know, I thought. That was a MAGA sentiment if ever I�

Former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter observed that “democracy cannot survive too much ignorance.” (FFRF, June/July 2025, pg. 17.)  He’s right. Uniformed voters returned a failed former president to the Oval Office in the last election, thinking that change for the sake

A drizzle, more like a fog, dampened the pavement where I stood holding my “Stop Trump” sign.  Minutes later, the drizzle became a downpour.  Fortunately, I was prepared for a change, having buttoned my raincoat to its lapels and covered my sign with heavy plastic.  Drivers had

A young worker came to replace a light plug in my apartment the other day.  I’d complained about the switch before, but he’d never found the trouble.  This time, it sparked in his hands like a firecracker.  “See,” I laughed, amused by his startled expression. “I wasn’t

A woman in her mid-50s, whom I’d known for two decades, recently dropped me from her Facebook circle.  Once an advocate for women’s rights, she acquired a boyfriend, and not long after, I noted changes in the tenor of her remarks.  Each time she defended MAGA values, I countered

The anthropologist Margaret Mead spent her life studying humans and came up with observations that go unchallenged today. One of them is, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.  But, like the

Last week, my blog was about finding our better angels in the worst of times, a term Abraham Lincoln coined in his first inaugural address.   I am familiar with my darker ones, anger, impatience, and vanity among them.  Less aggressive are the purer spirits. Sometimes, when I’ve

“Not my problem,” said Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noam about Andry Hernandez Romero. He’s the gay hairdresser from Venezuela she sent to a prison in El Salvador without due process, and the same woman who shot her dog because the pup was difficult to train. Nope. We’

After solving my computer problem over the telephone, my hardware guru and I paused for a chat. Not a fan of Donald Trump, he said he couldn’t wait until the 2026 election. Though I shared his impatience, I admitted I wasn’t sure there would be another election. His reply shot acr