Opinion

Stories are powerful. And we all contain multitudes of them. They can be stories from our childhoods, our ancestors or, more broadly, our country or culture. They can be mundane and profound. While stories can be very individual, forming everyone’s unique identity, the fact that everyone has stories makes this a universal human custom. We connect to others when we share our stories, leading us to deeper understanding and insight into ourselves and others.

I open the door carefully and peek along the wall to the white wicker table where the plants sit. Either I will catch a glimpse of the little brown bird or I won’t. If she knows I am there, she will flutter low and away from the porch. If she does not appear, she is either nestled in the plants or out gathering food. This is the standard scouting procedure Becky and I have been using when leaving the house. Mostly though, we have avoided the issue by using another door to go outside.

To the Editor:

I’ve been living in Rustbelt towns in West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana for more than two decades. One shocking thing I continue to hear is the belief that something will cause an increase in factory jobs. Whether this fantasy is heard on the national stage or in cities and towns, I remain stunned by the ignorance that otherwise intelligent people have about manufacturing in the United States.

Is America, both as a nation and a concept, coming to the end of the road?

When the good people of Kansas voted overwhelmingly in a statewide referendum to reject restraints on reproductive rights, they sent a message that could be read by everyone.

Things were a little slow-going at first. But eventually, the energy kicked in.

“Where are you?” asked my wife when she called me on my cell phone one afternoon.

It’s not often a person is in the same room as one of her or his heroes. That was my experience in May, 2003, when Mr. Bill Russell, NBA All-Star and civil rights advocate, was awarded an honorary degree at Franklin College’s Commencement.

Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) demands recognition as a universal truth with claims both on natural law and natural rights. Its logic is unassailable. It must be, based on the number of people who claim Bill of Rights level protection under it. No one has offered a refutation acceptable to the NIMBY choir.