Which One Describes You–Feeling Good or Doing Good?
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash Last week I shared Brink Lindsey’s first civic virtue: Treat all your fellow citizens, regardless of their political views, as your civic and political equals. Feels impossible some days, but still, a worthy goal. Here’s another of his civic virtues, and this one might be easier to achieve: […]
The Prime Directive for all Americans
Despite how you feel about the upcoming Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, civility on both sides is still important (even if it’s hard), and is considered by experts on both sides to be necessary in order to get this country working again. But how do we get there? Brink Lindsey has a suggestion […]
What’s it going to be: Action or Apathy?
Since last week’s SCOTUS leak, I’ve gone through a kaleidoscope of emotions, including deep sadness that my marriage is likely to be next on the chopping block given the language of Alito’s draft. But I’m putting that aside to look at this moment through a ‘civics’ lens. Sometime in June the Supreme Court will overturn […]
What is Civics?
My friend Lori thinks that “civics” means politics. But civics is so much more than that. Civics is knowing and understanding the responsibilities of being a citizen of this country. I need a metaphor for Lori. As I often do when faced with a hard question, I turn to chocolate. While munching on a bag […]
A Surprising Pivot
The extreme polarization in this country is really starting to weigh me down. In a search for help I stumbled upon a poll that asked both Democrats and Republicans to rank their top choices for how to heal the country and strengthen our identity as Americans. […]
Daydream Believer
I spend a great deal of time escaping from my life through daydreams. I always have. The critical thing to know here is that I have a fine life. Good parents, safe childhood, boring adolescence, stable relationship, etc. And even though I’m trying to stay engaged in this insane political situation, I still need to […]
My 21st Century Pencil
So I’m a pencil person. I love pencils. I wear them down, sharpen them, and read entire books about them. (The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski.) But when you write a novel longhand with a pencil, you must then sit down and type type type the material into the computer […]
Writers Go Crazy over Possibilities
One of the odd things about being a writer is that everything you see or hear (or think or say) is potential material. To give me more ‘potential material,’ I arranged for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Science Museum of Minnesota with my friend Jackie Hoff. She very sweetly agreed to give up her Saturday […]
Attack of the Killer Bees!
Most hives are docile enough that when the beekeeper walks away, the bees simply hurl a few insults about the size of your butt or your lack of intelligence, then turn back. But with an aggressive hive, as we had this year, the bees follow you. Melissa developed the technique of running around the west side of […]
The Paper No Longer Required
Thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday requiring marriage equality in all 50 states, I can throw this piece of paper away. Just in time, too, since it’s falling apart. I’ve been carrying it in my wallet for 27 years. Melissa had one as well, but after running her wallet through the washing machine […]