Category: character
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Three arguments for women
I write in memory of my friend who went to a cheap motel to get an illegal abortion back in the 1970s when abortions were illegal in Florida. I quote from Katha Pollitt’s book Pro—Reclaiming Abortion Rights. Pollitt begins: “In this book, I make many arguments, but let me mention three. First, the concept of…
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A new church
On September 4, 2021, Edward J. Solon’s letter to the editor was published in the Dallas Morning News. “I believe it is time for the women to Texas to create a church that happens to provide services for women,” Solon wrote. “All the services that are provided to women would be considered religious activities and…
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A better literary infrastructure?
Tracy Dahlby, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, argues, in an article in The Dallas Morning News, that this country needs a better literary infrastructure. Today, no worker in words rates the kind of status that Ernest Hemingway had during his lifetime, Dahlby says. “Our quicksilver, digital lives don’t easily tolerate…
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The reality of change
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” James Baldwin once said.
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Why we speak
“We speak not only to tell other people what we think, but to tell ourselves what we think. Speech is a part of thought,” neurologist and author Oliver Sacks once said.
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Are you grateful?
This is a trick question. Somehow, everywhere, we get the message that we’re supposed to be grateful—all the time. The writer Kate Bowler says, “I am here to give you permission. You don’t have to be a permanently grateful person. You can just be you. And sometimes you’ll have good days and sometimes you’ll have…
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Set the world on fire
“Be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire,” St. Catherine of Siena once said.
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Inherently good
“People at birth are inherently good,” says Chloe Zaho, the filmmaker. I am reminded of my friend who teaches courses in child development. Once, when we were talking about a politician who had done somethings we thought were reprehensible, she said, “I wonder about his childhood.” –Joy
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Empower someone
I recently heard Joan Chittister, the nun and author, talk about power in a video presentation. She talked about exploitative power, competitive power and manipulative power. But, she urged her audience to use their power to empower other people. Empowering other people, she stressed, is the best use of power. –Joy