Niedner: Discovering gratitude amid the roller coaster of news
Even as we wished each other Happy New Year last week, it seemed obvious 2019 would likely envelop us in wave after wave of unwelcome drama. If the year’s first...
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Niedner: The capacity for mercy should be the goal for holiday season
Regardless of one’s social circle, religious affiliation, or lack thereof, few escape this season’s perpetual wishes for “happy holidays” or a “merry Christmas.” Even isolated souls who have no friends...
Niedner: Eulogies notable for what they don’t say
Government offices closed on Wednesday and the stock market paused in its 1,000-point plunge so the nation could collectively observe the tradition of pulling to the side of the road...
Searching for a vanishing Paradise
The severity of California’s deadly wildfires commanded cautious respect from all who reported or commented on their devastating effects. Headline writers still found room, however, for something close to playfulness...
Goodness still lies at the heart of an America riven with violent rhetoric
A long-ago term of service on the campus judicial board of the university where I taught for many years made it abundantly clear that at least two institutions and cultures...
Niedner: The earth is in trouble, but what will we do about it?
We sometimes refer to ourselves as “the human family,” all 7.7 billion of us, usually when news of something universally heart-warming reminds us how much we have in common. These...
Niedner: Cosby, Kavanaugh dramas should prompt tough family conversations
Bill Cosby went to prison this week. Almost incomprehensibly, Cliff Huxtable, Chet Kincaid, Alexander Scott, and childhood friend Fat Albert joined him. Along with the brilliant young comic who made...
Blessings can arrive from catastrophes after the cameras leave
My grandparents learned of hurricanes and their aftermath on faraway coastlands when they read newspapers and found a story and perhaps a photo. Radio might have brought news more quickly,...
Loving thine enemy is difficult but necessary process
I once heard a Catholic monk lecture on similarities and differences among the world’s religions. Those who give such talks have generally studied the history, texts, and traditions of humankind’s...
Education is a lifetime journey
For students, teachers, parents with lumps in their throats sending children off to Kindergarten or college, and anyone who must negotiate a yellow bus swarm on the way to work,...