When Thoreau walked the shores of Cape Cod, he felt he could stand on the beach and “put all America behind him.” The edge-ness of this place is part of […]
Editorials
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
No Place Like Homeland
Congressman Jamie Raskin, the Maryland Democrat and Constitutional scholar, spoke at Wellfleet Preservation Hall this summer about the state of the world and the coming elections. “All over the world,” […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
A Bad Report Card
“The Pandemic Erased Two Decades of Progress in Math and Reading” was the headline in the New York Times about the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Wellfleet’s Moment Arrives
Wellfleet will have a chance on Sept. 10 to make a real difference in the housing crisis. Articles 6, 7, and 8 on the special town meeting warrant are about […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This Is on the Record
In his “Year-Rounder” column last week, Dennis Minsky wrote that disputes between neighbors are sometimes “the most bitter fights of all.” He might be right, judging from the emails and […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Show Up or Die
New Hampshire, famous for its “Live Free or Die” motto and spirit of rugged individualism, is also the home of the Free State Project, which describes itself as “a mass […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Art’s Discomforting Pleasure
The Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha played at Payomet in Truro last Tuesday, challenging the audience with its insistent message about the war in their native country. At one point, golden-hour sunlight […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
The Singularity of Lives
One of the most important tasks of an obituary writer is to discover the qualities that illuminated the life of an individual in relation to society and the relationships that […]
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Be an Owner of the Indie
The question of who owns the news media is important in a democracy. Though it can somehow seem impolite to talk about it. With some exceptions: We grew up understanding […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Who Will Care for Kids?
There is a sliver of good news this week in the child-care department: a rental subsidy program administered by the Housing Assistance Corp. will begin next month, offering $450 per […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Silence on Abortion
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization came on June 24, eliminating the federal guarantee of abortion rights established in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. Since […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Slow-Walking With Safire
Regular readers of the Independent may wonder why we make certain language choices in editing the paper — for example, why we won’t permit the word “informational” to be used, […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Fighting With Facts
Heather Cox Richardson teaches history at Boston College and writes a blog called “Letters From an American” that has become one of the most widely read newsletters in the U.S. […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Name-Calling by the Nameless
People often send us unsigned letters and emails, wanting us to investigate transgressions they think the community should know about. When these writers go to great lengths to conceal their […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Revolted by the Mob
The hearings now being held in Washington by the committee investigating the riot that took place on Jan. 6, 2021 remind us of the danger we faced as a nation […]
