Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s leadership as health secretary has elevated debate on public health. Many disagree with his approach, me included. Still, I see value in this debate for what may come next.  Traditional public health initiatives seek to reduce disease burden in the population through individual education, encouragement, resources and mandates (like childhood vaccinations). […]

Over Labor Day weekend, I had a medical emergency that led me to be taken from the Thayer Center ER in Waterville to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for emergency surgery and a week of recovery. I am writing to say how impressed I was by the caring and professionalism of everyone at MGMC: the doctors, […]

A mean-spirited Sept. 10 letter (“Gender ideology does not belong in Maine schools”) suggests the writer has been breathing the rarefied air of Trumpism for too long. The writer appears to have little empathy with or understanding of her fellow human beings in the LGBTQ community. If she did have a friend or relative, a […]

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. Much of the left celebrated. Much of the right mourned. The exercise of a right that Kirk fought for ultimately took his life. I urge the party that has rallied for gun control to use this death as an opportunity for conversation, not for “I told you so.” Let […]

Both suicidal and violent impulses are far more likely to become lethal with firearms. As a psychiatrist, I know that suicidal acts are often impulsive and can be prevented when intervention is possible. Both suicides and homicides by firearms can occur in response to crises. Often there are escalating warning signs, the “red flags” that […]

A number of Holocaust survivors have raised their voices about Gaza, insisting that “never again” must mean never again for anyone. Their plea carries a moral weight that cannot be ignored. The International Association of Genocide Scholars has formally concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the definition of genocide. Professor William Schabas, one of […]

The very essence of democracy is civil debate. No one encouraged civil debate more than Charlie Kirk.  If any person had an opinion opposing Charlie Kirk’s, he invited them to come to the front of the line. He wanted the debate. He wanted to hear from people. He wanted  them to hear him.  Debate was his purpose, his method of defending […]

I was very pleased to read the Aug. 31 op-ed by Steve Collins about being “from away.” As a five-year resident of Scarborough, I have found that, very often, people tell me I am “from away.” My husband and I chose to move to this area because our family is living in Maine. We are not […]