A friend who used to do a lot of substituting in Outer Cape schools once described a scene in a classroom for four-year-olds that was well-designed for all kinds of […]
Op-Eds
OP-ED
We Must Act Locally on Climate
Building committee has wrongly nixed a net-zero emissions high school
Climate change is a clear and present danger to our community and to humanity as a whole. We are digging a hole for ourselves by continuing to produce greenhouse gas […]
OP-ED
A Great Leader Has Left Us
But most Americans do not know who John Lewis was
Every day, some ridiculous or explosive or dangerous or miraculous thing happens with our teenagers. I wish I could sit them all down and tell them about John Lewis. A […]
OP-ED
Racial Inequity in Our Back Yard
Truro’s Cloverleaf project and the costs of systemic exclusion
TRURO — In early June, many Outer Cape Codders joined in our shared reckoning over the crisis of white supremacy and racial inequity in this country. After the protests, many […]
OP-ED
The Bias Against ‘Pit Bulls’
Headlines can hide the truth behind dog bites
PROVINCETOWN — The Independent’s July 9 front-page story on the effects of the coronavirus crisis on dogs, “Pandemic Is No Treat for the Four-Legged,” fell into a common and unfortunate […]
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Racism in My Body
Recognizing and weeding out a dangerous invasive
“Lock your door.” That was the first insidiously racist thing my body remembers hearing. There were other words, heard earlier. Subtle, belittling generalizations. Words that didn’t match up with what I knew […]
OP-ED
Keeping Watch
Reflections of a retired English teacher
In 1872, Congress authorized the reorganization of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the refurbishing of old and building of new stations along the Atlantic Coast. The waters off Cape Cod […]
BLACK LIVES MATTER
We Should Not Have to Be Afraid
Why sharing a black screen on Instagram isn’t enough
I am outraged and I am terrified. I am outraged by the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and so many other black American citizens. We […]
OP-ED
Pier Dispute Calls for Mediation
The fight over longtime fishermen who face displacement
The Provincetown Public Pier Corp. board, all volunteers, is trying to bring consistent application of rules and regulations to the pier, as well as rate increases that will meet the […]
OP-ED
A Time for Safe Communities
Raising voices to stop the heartless war on immigrants
Both the federal government and the state of Massachusetts are waging a heartless war on immigrants. While the Trump administration actively blocks asylum seekers, imprisons families, deports unaccompanied children, and […]
FROM THE HELM
Caught in the Eye of the Storm
‘Steer into the waves,’ said the captain, but that was nearly impossible
It was the 2 a.m. deck watch change. I looked up to see a 40-foot wall of water just before it came crashing over us. In that instant, I knew […]
OP-ED
Hope in the Time of Covid-19
With a dysfunctional state, can we ‘feel to be a cog in something turning’?
EASTHAM — My grandfather was a Congregational minister. I never met him. He died of pneumonia in the 1920s. Two stories I heard growing up about Robert Hillis Goldsmith: in […]
OP-ED
Sharks and Viruses
Why Islamic terrorism scared Americans more than pandemics
WASHINGTON, D.C. — If I had to pick the one thing that has changed most in the 28 years I’ve been coming to Truro, it would be the fear factor. […]
OP-ED
Gimme Shelter
The wish to be both protected and at peace
IRVINGTON, N.Y. — New York is well stocked with uncertainty this week. I am sheltering in place and wish I were somewhere else. I covered wars in the Middle East […]
OP-ED
On Hunkering Down While Raising a Glass
The new social distancing normal calls for some amelioration
Looking for inspiration as we approach the end of Lent? Try L.B.J. for a change: “Sometimes you just have to hunker down and take it like a jackass in a […]
