Category Archives: Words

We Have Met the Candidates, and They Are Us

Posted on November 6, 2018 by

Let’s make this Election Day a kind of “Feast of All Saint-Candidates,” following up on the Catholic Church’s recent “Feast of All Saints.” I’ll explain this modest proposal, but first I’ll acknowledge its flaws. They’re found in the candidates we’re … Continue reading →

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It’s Saint Francis’ Feast Day! Any Implications?

Posted on October 4, 2018 by

These are days for recognizing fragility. How vulnerable we are to destructive temptations–and to others’ accusations that we are sinful. We tend to let our recognition of sinfulness drive us apart, but it actually should draw us together. We share … Continue reading →

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“Farsighted” Decisions and Nearsighted News

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

You’re familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Steven Johnson has produced a book that serves as a valuable response to that celebration of spontaneity. Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions that Matter the Most … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Hope from a Journalistic Legend: Seymour Hersh

Posted on August 22, 2018 by

   Book TV’s coverage of a June 2018 interview with veteran New York Times journalist Seymour Hersh, discussing his book, Reporter: A Memoir, yields a video that is compelling almost to the point of exhausting. No action-hero scriptwriter in Hollywood could … Continue reading →

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Society’s High Stakes, High Tensions, High Hopes

Posted on July 22, 2018 by

A Reflection from C-Span’s BookTV “We’re at a point in the course of social evolution when the demands of survival converge with the higher ideals of humanity and the well-being of human society.” That’s an observation at the close of A … Continue reading →

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Reap with Those Who Reap?

Posted on July 14, 2018 by

I had not heard about the game show, “Paid Off,” until I read a poignant new piece in The Huffington Post. It  It describes a case of replacing news with entertainment–a case I think has relevance to Pope Francis’ 2018 World Day … Continue reading →

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No Civil War, but a “Civility” War?

Posted on July 9, 2018 by

“Civility, whatever that is….” That’s a phrase used in a recent post I found at the Columbia Journalism Review online. The June 27 piece by Matthew Ingram is an important, carefully considered collection of news and commentary where the use of the word … Continue reading →

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