As I am sitting on my balcony of a boat traveling down the Mosel River in Germany, passing picturesque villages founded before Christopher Columbus was even born, I am in awe of this place with its castles and massive churches. While I am having a dream vacation, I am also thinking upon what the history … Continue reading Lessons from France →

Every year in May a colleague and I take about a dozen students on some type of weeklong outdoor experience. In the past we have done backpacking or canoeing, but this year we camped at different historical and environmental locations in western Oklahoma. We spent a few days camping at Black Mesa, followed by a … Continue reading Price of Progress →

Three years ago, I wrote an article about religious intolerance. My premise was that America had actually never been that religiously tolerant, that today religion, Christianity in particular, was the one area where intolerance was still acceptable, and that those who often cried for the most tolerance could be the most intolerant. I used the … Continue reading Religious Intolerance 2022 →

One of the hot news stories is the bill in Florida banning discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary schools. The bill is called “Parental Rights in Education Bill” but has been dubbed the “Don’t say gay” bill. This, of course, has led to a national debate about censorship, decency, and age appropriateness. … Continue reading To Censor or not to Censor, that is a Difficult Question →

This probably feels like an overabundance of writing from me, but we had an ice storm recently, school was closed, and I really did not leave the house. This left me with a lot of time, and much of it has been focused on the events in Ukraine. This is an area rich in history … Continue reading Budapest Memorandum →

As I watched the news last night of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it scared me as it probably has scared many of you wondering what is going to happen next. Not that this helps the larger picture, but I thought I would write about the events to give a bit of historical perspective. This week … Continue reading Russian invasion of Ukraine →

With mail-in voting becoming such an important political issue today, it is worth the time to examine similar issues in history. I have written on this before, but with the blocking of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, it is worth reexamining. The debate is between protecting voting, not from just fraud but from corruption, … Continue reading Mail In Voting →

This week I intended to write about the jobs report put out by the White House and give a historical comparison. Biden claimed that he has the largest growth in jobs throughout history, and I thought surely that is not right, especially with the numbers FDR put out. However, when I checked the White House … Continue reading White House Sized Ego →

With Martin Luther King Day approaching, I have thought a lot about the man who, more than anyone else, historically represents the Civil Rights movement and social justice. At the same time, I have noticed something strange. Is it possible that the keepers of King’s legacy is shifting right? I am not talking about the … Continue reading Shifting of a Legacy? →

As I have considered how I wanted to end this year, I knew I wanted to try to bring a message of hope and unity. We are truly living in dark days, where it seems we have lost any pretense of civility towards anyone who thinks differently than ourselves. There have always been political differences, … Continue reading Christmas 2021 →