This weekend the United States celebrates its declaration of independence from Great Britain, made in 1776. An event that is, as all historical events are, a mix of hopefulness, exclusion, ethnocentrism, positivity and harm, progress and potential. We acknowledge this mix with humility and dedication to rise to the promises made. We can also focus … Continue reading The thing about independence
freedom
Opposites
On a day we heard of a terrible milestone of losses in our country due to the pandemic, can we feel anything but sorrow? This morning, on a walk in this beautiful valley, sun shining and birds singing, I pondered the invitations we receive, all too often, to divide ourselves from one another. It occurred … Continue reading Opposites
Independence day and hope
As we in the U.S. celebrated the anniversary of adopting the Declaration of Independence from the government of King George III of Great Britain, I read these words from David Cole, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. They resonated with the original "just causes" listed in the Declaration, and they resonated with … Continue reading Independence day and hope
A Thanksgiving Top Ten
This is less a “top” ten list, and more a “random” ten list. Who could put gratitude in any rational order, anyway? Stories - the infinite number of stories to be told. Or maybe there is only one real story, but an infinite variety of ways to tell it. Either way, the well of stories never runs … Continue reading A Thanksgiving Top Ten
On Love
It's wonderfully easy to find beautiful Martin Luther King Junior quotes to share on a glorious day in January: the sun is out in my town, the sky is blue, and I am free to love it all.
Love your library
On April 9, 1883, the first publicly-funded library in the U.S. opened in Peterborough, New Hampshire. There may be no single institution more necessary to the free exchange of ideas than the public library - the place where those ideas are housed and made available to anyone with a library card. In the last ten … Continue reading Love your library
Elizabeth Fountain, Author 