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Latest — Oct 30, 2026

What to Do With That Nervous Pre-Election Energy

There is great temptation to look for comfort in the news. “Oh, if I just scroll a little longer, I might find what I’m looking for." But that’s a bit like going to the hardware store for milk, isn’t it? The news isn’t designed to

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The Antidote to What’s Wrong in the World

The volunteers stood in bright October chill with flannel, LL Bean vests, and Dunkin mugs that whispered steam into the autumn morning. These folks could have been eating cider donuts in an orchard somewhere. Or putting hoses away and cutting back their hostas. Or going to a Patriots pre-game

Extra Cole Slaw and Other Magic We Can Make for Democracy Today

After I got the parking space, blessed the parking app with permission to charge me $5 dollars, checked the time to ensure I had enough of it, I walked into Kinko's to pick up a print job. The curly-haired woman at the counter brought me the cardstock

Democracy At Its Best!

On a cloudless October Sunday, I walked up to a barn in Maine’s rural western foothills with a couple of camp chairs. The barn was filled with many people who were new to me. But most all of them had been loved by a veterinarian. A veterinarian who had

A Joyous Interlude in a Harsh Season

Several Decembers ago, my father had the idea to write JOY in rope lighting on the kitchen fence. Actually creating JOY turned out to be less JOYful: my fingers went numb, the twisty ties were too short, and despite multiple attempts, it came out looking like JOF. After we wrestled

A Simple Democracy Need We Can Easily Meet

Saturday, I turned away from the election coverage, the breaking alerts that mostly break our focus, and I cleaned out the basement. For me, this cleaning falls into two buckets. There’s the easier organization of tossing out brittle paint brushes, gathering the multiple cans of WD40 in multiple different

A Surefire Way to Overcome the Powerful

Our politics is a bit short on saints and Buddhas these days. The halls of power seem to have more crooks, ne’er do wells, bullies, backstabbers. Given that this motley crowd makes up the loudest faction of today’s politics (though not the only faction), we might assume that

Two Words to Change Any Room We’re In

There’s a two-word phrase making the rounds in the media these days. Perhaps you’ve bumped into it, too. Chilling effect. * This is intended to have a chilling effect on reporters. * This can’t help but have a chilling effect on higher ed. * You can see the chilling

Finding Ease in an Uneasy Season

Life is asking a lot of us right now, isn’t it? The pace of change, the volume of information, the uncertainty of an election with sky-high stakes. And that’s all layered on top of life's usual tugs: the shower isn’t draining, we need to

If You’re Nervous About the Election

Sometime ago, I read an interview with the great short story writer George Saunders, a frequent flier on the bestseller list. The interviewer asked him if he got nervous any more when a book was coming out. Of course, Mr. Saunders replied. But I’ve realized that nervousness means I