Lessons from Gettysburg. With apologies to the history buffs out there, this is not what you think. I spent four days on that hallowed ground last week, attending a conference. It was a Braver Angels conference, and if you haven’t heard of that organization, they are a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to depolarizing the country. How […]

The world is taking a right turn. Even when parties clash on policy, their shared values can yield practical results through compromise. But now, conservatives increasingly reject compromise, jeopardizing shared values. Liberal democracy may be retreating. It emerged from the adoption of social welfare policies and the defeat of fascism by American and European democracies. […]

After sharing inspiring stories about people we had recently encountered, a friend of mine said, ‘There is magic everywhere.” So true. As I enter my ninth decade, I’ve decided to pay closer attention to those magical moments. After all, time is all we have. Bowdoin’s recent commencement and reunion weekends offered up an array of […]