History is a Jigsaw Puzzle

Up until three years ago the lands of Iraq and Iran would have been hard for many Americans to find on a world map. We knew next to nothing about their history, language and culture. We only knew they had a dictator of the worst kind. The British and French following...

See Happiness Through Others’ Difficult Lives

True happiness can come to us in our difficult times, if we look for it in others. Such was the philosophy of one of China’s greatest writers, who died last month. Ba Jin was the pen name of Li Feigan, who died in Shanghai, China, at the age of 101. His novels...

A Blessed, Unique Land

One of the more difficult things in life is to see the world as it is. Not the way we think it should be or how we wish it to be, but just as it is: perverse, compromised and with some outright lies. There are others who refuse to see America in any other context than...

Columbus Came in Second to the Chinese

Last Monday was Columbus Day. Italians in some cities had parades honoring Christopher Columbus, the sailor credited with discovering the New World. It is not important to note that there was neither a country named Italy nor a people called Italians when he was born....

Injustice Toward Women a Blight on History

I don’t know where it started, but I have a suspicion it began in the Garden of Eden, long before any of us were remotely conceived. What started, you say? The twisted notion that men are better than women. The injustice heaped upon women by men has been a...