Oh, the insecurities of youth! “Will I be popular?” “Can I play basketball as well as the other boys?” “Will the others let me hang out with them?” “Will boys like me?” “Will girls like me?” “Am I as strong/smart/good-looking/funny as the cool kids?” Most kids and teens endure these doubts about themselves. It’s a
READ MOREWhen we think of the words virtue or character, our minds usually go first to actionable morality. We think, for instance, of chivalry (say, a gentleman holding a door for a lady) or altruism (the willingness to give up personal pleasure to help someone else). Philip E. Dow makes a good case, though, for virtue
READ MOREFeeling depressed by the state of the nation? Sucked under by the daily torrent of negative news? Powerless in the grip of forces greater than yourself? Join the crowd. In October 2022, the American Psychological Association (APA) released data showing that 70 percent of adults don’t believe their government cares about their well-being and that
READ MORE“Calculated Moves.” Credit: OwenComics (store). Twitter: @owenbroadcast. Instagram: @owenbroadcast. ITO Save this article to favorites
READ MOREWhen I first attended a Shakespeare play, I have to admit that for the first few scenes I was pretty lost. Shakespeare’s English is of a much older and more formal style than ours, so sometimes experiencing his work is almost like hearing another language. Confused and concerned that the play wasn’t going to make
READ MOREIn a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…. The opening sentence of The Hobbit is one of the most famous first sentences in all of literature. Simple and short, like its subject, it ignites the imagination the moment we read it. What on earth, and in its comfortable hole in the earth, is a hobbit?
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