The agony of witnessing relentless ineptitude

Recently I read an anonymous comment on social media proclaiming it was time for some political activists to turn silent. The commenter used a sports analogy; he proclaimed he thoroughly disliked the New England Patriots, but that the game was over, and he was not interested in protesting the outcome. He’s thinking about next season, […]

It really is about the math

It really is about the math. Every time I hear someone proudly announce how bad he or she is at math, I am reminded about the neglect of the American school system. Every time I read an article about how our own U.S. Education Secretary thinks public funded school choice is the answer to our […]

Anger, blame, and the myth of evil

I used to have this recurring nightmare, like a monster nightmare, except the “monster” was really a gigantic King Kong sized human baby, hungry, in need of a diaper change, romping through city streets causing havoc. Think of how loud a three month-old baby’s wailing can be, and then imagine it coming from a baby […]

How Can You Possibly Think That?

There have been more occasions than I can count over the past 18 months that have left me asking the question, how is it possible someone can think such a thing? Many times I have gotten myself into an ugly argumentative quagmire when I confront the person or persons whom I am in grave disagreement […]

Everything You Know In Your Heart Is Wrong

Everything you know in your heart is wrong. That’s what I tell myself before I develop an opinion about something, because if my “heart” is the only place I seem to “know” it, then my “knowing” is based on emotion, hope, or a hunch, and not evidence. When I fail to seek convincing evidence to […]

Happy New Year! Now Let’s Get To Work

This is the first of many installments of The Unrealized Republic that will double as an open letter to elected officials here in Maine and across the country. I will write each blog post in 2017 as an open letter to an elected official or group of elected officials in an effort to help us, […]

These Long, Dark Nights

A couple weeks ago I wrote about winter as an opportunity to appreciate the lighter, brighter, more cheerful times of life during the darker, colder, more serious times. In doing so, we find value in cold and darkness, and therefore we can appreciate those times too. Winter is beautiful because it is dark; it allows […]