Ode to Joy

Here are some of the things that bring me Joy. Being with my wife. Chocolate Chip Cookies. Coming home. Completing a project. Dogs. Doing my best. Eating a good meal. Having a good conversation. Hearing a good joke. Helping someone. Kittens. Listening to good music. Peanut butter. Pizza. Playing trumpet. Pretzels. Puppies. Reading. Seeing people … Continue reading Ode to Joy →

Dualities

“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” “If you criticize Israel, that means you are antisemitic.” “If you question the president, you must hate your country.” There are many examples. These statements represent the “either-or” fallacy. Of course, a person might not agree with everything their country (or their president) does … Continue reading Dualities →

The Expendables

Once upon a time, my class watched the classic Hitchcock film, “Lifeboat,” in our first-year seminar course. The lifeboat was a microcosm of life. With severely limited resources, nine passengers on a lifeboat were faced with deciding who will live and who will die. Now, an algorithm might give a seriously injured man a lower … Continue reading The Expendables →

First Things First

In 1944, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello performed one of the best comedy dialogs of all time. If you’ve never heard it, you should check it out. It starts like this: Abbott: Well, Costello, I'm going to New York with you. You know Bucky Harris, the Yankee's manager, gave me a job as coach for … Continue reading First Things First →

Exile

When I taught a freshman course called, “Justice and the Good Society,” I used an equilateral triangle to describe the relationship between church, state, and individuals. My point was that historically speaking, whenever there was not a healthy tension between the three, society suffered. When two of these conspired, the third was in trouble. For … Continue reading Exile →

Realizations

Realizations often come when we least expect them. Recently, in the middle of a rehearsal, I had a realization. As the choir was singing about peace, the question, “What’s the point of religion?” popped into my mind. I suppose many people practice a religion to find God, to know and love God, to discover what … Continue reading Realizations →