I had the opportunity this week to be in Philadelphia exactly 250 years after the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, which occurred on July 8, 1776. As I walked past the structure we call Independence Hall (originally called the Pennsylvania State House) and the Liberty ...

It's no surprise that we've attempted to make 2026 something memorable, with countless celebrations, festivities, observances and commemorations all stamped with the America 250 title. But as we've gotten closer to July 4 and the cause of all this hoopla and fanfare, I've wondered how well we ...

It felt to me like a long and frequently contentious run up to the 2026 primary elections. While the process has been ongoing for nearly six months, the intensity felt like elevated in May and June with candidates and their allies attempting a wide range of tactics to give themselves an ...

I recently took the opportunity to read a 2009 essay from the National Council on Family Relations (ncfr.org) called "Mythologizing fatherhood" by Ralph LaRossa, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Georgia State University. It was based off of remarks made at a conference called "Myths of the ...

In less than a month, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is referred to as the nation's birthday. I don't know if I see that as completely accurate, since there were so many other events before and after that had enormous ...

For as long as I can remember, I've had a fascination with words. I grew up in a home where reading was a regular activity, both individually and out loud to the entire family. Books, stories, religious works, encyclopedias, newspapers and other materials were regularly read and shared. I had ...