A Christian nativity display at a park in Fairfield raises questions about the wall of separation between church and state, Vensel writes.
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Judicial ethics complaints can’t be ignored
Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court dilemma raises interesting questions about the ethics crisis engulfing the nation’s highest court, the columnist writes.
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Commentary: How our words about the Israel-Hamas war can add to hostilities — or help on a path to peace
The language people use to talk about the Israel-Hamas war has power: It can contribute to misunderstanding and alienation, but it can also bring about appreciation for concepts that can seem impossible during this kind of conflict, such as peace. I was born to a Palestinian Arab father and an Israeli Jewish mother — a […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Opinion: How to stay in the moment — even when it feels like end times
Jesus, often pitched as the antidote to our anxieties, also makes a compelling case for embracing our fear.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Sure, people made fun of Jimmy Carter. I was lucky to have Jimmy Carter make fun of me
Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, is the first presidential candidate I remember publicly expressing an opinion of. As it turned out, Carter would also be the first (and only) president to publicly express an opinion of me. During Carter’s presidency he was criticized and lampooned, but during his life he was more often hailed for […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: History gets Jimmy Carter wrong, both underrated and overrated
In the lives of public figures a tale often takes hold and that narrative becomes their story. In the case of Jimmy Carter, it goes like this: A humble peanut farmer and former Georgia governor defies extraordinary odds and wins the White House, through a combination of virtue, decency and a post-Watergate political cleansing. Over […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Listening in a time of disinformation
The very fabric of truth is unraveling at an alarming rate. Howard Thurman’s wisdom about listening for the sound of the genuine is not just relevant but urgent. In the face of the escalating crisis of disinformation, distortion and the unsettling normalization of immoral and unethical practices, particularly in electoral politics and executive leadership, the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: The election couldn’t solve our crisis of belief. Here’s what can
The stark divisions surrounding the recent presidential election are still with us, and will be for some time. The reason is clear: We have a crisis of belief in this country that goes much deeper than any single election. So many people, especially young people, have lost faith in America. We have lost belief in […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Opinion: More Mainers should consider direct primary care
Paying your primary care physician directly, in the form of a monthly membership fee, is a good way forward.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Our enduring love of Ernest Shackleton exposes false ideas of leadership
It seems Ernest Shackleton’s legend has set sail again, this time courtesy of National Geographic and Disney+, which just released a new documentary on the discovery of the famed Anglo Irish explorer’s lost ship. Shackleton is best known for the trials of his ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, which set off in summer 1914 and saw […]