Posts by D C

In Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we are watching someone act like one of Russia’s czars from the past.  One of those czars, Ivan, was even known as “The Terrible,” a title that Putin has now earned. The fatal flaw of all dictators is that they surround themselves with sycophants, “yes men” and “yes women” who…

Mark Twain once said that there are two days that are most important in a person’s life.  One is the day you were born and the other is the day you figure out why.  One of the greatest honors and privileges of working with college students is that so many of them share with their…

In looking through old photos recently, I came across one with our car in the background.  The photo brought back a flood of memories of all the good times we had in that car.   Given all the memories we have with our automobiles, it isn’t surprising that cars can seem like family members.  It’s…

Two news stories collided recently and the news story that moves our hearts as Americans will decide our future as a society.  One news story centers on the bill being proposed by several Indiana Republican legislators to ban discussion of topics such as racism from the classroom because these legislators deem those topics as potentially…

If there is one certainty in fishing, it is that there is no certainty.  This past summer, on the Wisconsin lake I know best, I stumbled onto a new fishing strategy.  Instead of fishing with everyone else from six in the evening until sunset, I began to venture out later,  when the sky was already…

One of the greatest challenges facing parents in the next decade will be to understand the allure of fanaticism for young people. It wasn’t that long ago that calling someone a fanatic was, if not an insult, at least a warning that such a person was dangerous. For a growing number of people now, to…

During the Vietnam War, the slogan “America: love it or leave it” was popular among people who demanded uncritical devotion to the government and to the war. But uncritical devotion to the government has never been a trait of the American spirit. Americans who have moved this country forward have never been satisfied with America…