Patriotism is out of favor these days, dropping from 70% support in 2000 to 38% today.  (“The Strange Triumph of a Broken America,” by Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb. 2025, pg. 50.)  Because we choose our leaders in a democracy, the decline says the voters are unhappy

Growing up as a Catholic, taking Confession struck me as a wonderful device.  Whenever I did something wrong during the week, if I confessed on Friday, the priest would assign me a few prayers to recite, and “poof”, like magic, I was absolved of sin.   If I missed a week, I cou

I’m always stunned when people confess they don’t plan to vote in the upcoming 2024 election because neither presidential candidate inspires them–as if the event was a beauty contest and the fate of the nation wasn’t at stake. Joe Biden’s poor debate performance recently

My U. S. Senator voted against the Ukrainian-Istreal aid package that Congress passed recently.  He said he opposed it because of  Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct in the Gaza war.  I like my Senator. Nonetheless, I sent him an email that accused him of being long on principle, but s