Saying Grace
It is heartening (and this is a measure of where we have been) to remember that civility is not dead, not abandoned, not impossible, not a waste of breath.
Society & Culture
Election Day in a Small Town in Southern Illinois
“Both the media and the politicians benefit from keeping us divided. They push us to the extremes, because that is where the clicks and the money are.”
Conclave Breaks the Seal of Secrecy
This extraordinary film reveals the Vatican’s secretive and shadowy aspect, easily seen as sinister but felt by insiders as plain necessity.
Is It Time to Drop the Penny?
That tiny copper disc has become irrelevant, an annoyance, yet one with a rich history. Does it still have a point to make?
Not Being John Malkovich: TCR at the DNC
The reporter was the same height as John Malkovich, and baldheaded, and got a similar pissy look on his face when he was tired. (Malkovich grew up 15 miles from where the reporter grew up.) The reporter felt as if he looked like John Malkovich in that movie where he was walking through the crowd in a station, trying to look normal, but doing it so obviously that Bruce Willis just had to laugh.
Young Man Addresses the Crowd: TCR at the DNC
The young man talked another 40 minutes. The bus crawled through rush hour and the security perimeter at the United Center, where Harris would make her speech. There was no bathroom or water on the bus, and no exiting it.
With Relentless Mischief, Life Surprises Us
No matter how tight your friendships, you cannot predict where you will find a burst of empathy and help.
Our Hand-Wringing About the Planet Could Be Hubris
Robinson Jeffers thought even our angst was self-centered. “We must uncenter our minds from ourselves;/ We must unhumanize our views a little.”
Poverty Council Reveals Tensions in the Party: TCR at the DNC
Despite political rhetoric slung to get elected, no party can take care of all people and all problems at once, and resources and time are limited. This was tacitly acknowledged by the DNC when they tried to quash the Poverty Council.
Retirement Should Be Festive
Go look for soulmates in Paris, as Martha Gellhorn did. Loosen lifelong inhibitions in Tahiti. Retire in Mexico.