Posts by D C

I admit it; I find transitions hard. My parents told me that I didn’t do well when our family moved from the Chicago area to Springfield, Illinois, when I was five years old. I don’t remember that, but I remember being disoriented when we moved five years later to northern Illinois. Perhaps that partially explains…

Memory is a strange human facility. Why do we vividly remember certain experiences in the past but not others? Of course, traumatic moments are memorable because they are accompanied by strong emotions. 9/11 as well as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassinations can’t help but be remembered. What I find surprising is…

Donald Trump could have avoided a lot of frustration and embarrassment if he had asked me about Canadians. In the early to mid-seventies, while pursuing doctoral studies in Scotland, I knew a number of Canadians who were also studying there. In fact, my wife and I shared living accommodations with one Canadian couple, and I…

As I have aged, my view of obituaries has changed. When I was younger, I usually ignored obituaries. Many young people find death a morbid preoccupation unless circumstances force them to pay attention. Given that most obituaries pertain to older people, perhaps ignoring death when a person is young makes a kind of sense. I…

Last week while channel-surfing, I stumbled upon a short documentary about the Amish. Many people would likely ignore the program, but I have always been curious about all things religious. This wasn’t the first program I’ve watched about the Amish, but this one’s title, “The Amish Dilemma,” grabbed my attention. A distinctive element of this…

Roman generals and emperors offer important lessons about the dangers of authoritarian rule. In an attempt to always appear strong, or even to be a god, Roman rulers surrounded themselves with weak advisors and servants. These fawning flatterers are best called sycophants or toadies. To help my students understand what these words mean, I encouraged…

Last week, I received an invitation to participate in a panel discussion that I immediately accepted. The panel discussion will take place on May 17th, the hundredth anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth. The topic will be the influence that Malcolm has on America and on our personal lives. I won’t be offended if you’re questioning…

One of my favorite surprises in life is when someone invites me to see something I’ve taken for granted or not thought much about. This happened recently when I was reading a collection of short essays written by a monk, Jeremy Driscoll. Father Jeremy’s essay pointed me to something right in front of my eyes,…

I was reminded by Muslim friends that Ramadan just ended on March 30. Ramadan is the month in the Islamic calendar that celebrates the first revelations of the Quran given to Muhammad. This year, Ramadan and the Christian season of Lent overlapped, Lent running until Holy Week and then Easter on April 20. Lent, like…

My wife has relatives in Scandinavia with whom she is extremely close. Recently, they have let us know that their countries and neighboring countries are on high alert because of the Ukrainian situation. Doing some investigating, I learned that Sweden’s military is conducting war drills to prepare for a possible Russian invasion. This isn’t some…