Free speech is pointless if we can’t tell what’s true — Last fall, NFL quarterback Aaron Rogers caused quite a stir over his COVID vaccination status. When asked about it the previous August, he’d responded, “Yeah, I’ve been immunized,” implying that he’d been vaccinated. …

I didn’t want to write this story. I frankly don’t find censorship very interesting, because it’s so obviously illiberal. Where’s the argument? I was reluctant to spend a whole piece on it. Plus, the censorship that’s been occurring lately has originated mainly with the Republican Party, and I always find…

I’ve been journaling all my life, beginning with a Ramona Quimby fill-in-the-blanks diary when I was six. Soon I had progressed to Meade college-ruled notebooks, and as a young adult, my series of notebooks became essentially my closest friend. …

My neighbor and I were talking recently about our partners, both of whom are teachers. We agreed that we admired them for doing such a challenging job. “I couldn’t do it,” my neighbor said, shaking his head with a wry smile. “Me neither.” I smiled too. …

In summer 2018, a student named Oliver Kline wrote to Oregon’s leading newspaper about the political culture at his high school. He said he was proud of Portland’s progressive values, but that he also valued “free and open debate.” …

A new year is a time of transition, and as we move into 2022, I’ve been reflecting on the pandemic and things I’ve learned so far. It’s amazing to think what we’ve all been through in recent years. Last year was better than 2020, but still, it was another doozy…

Chronic illness has made me say no a lot. I suspect I’ve lost a few friends to my chronic illness. These are people who used to invite me to things, but whose invitations petered out after a big health crisis in 2016. In the year or two after my ulcerative colitis landed me in the hospital, these folks slowly…

Academia has long been left-leaning Whitman is a small school in the beautiful wheat and wine country of Walla Walla, Washington. It’s fairly typical of liberal arts colleges: expensive, fun, supportive, earnest…and politically liberal. For all its flaws, Whitman is a magical place, and I’m proud to have gone there. All schools have flaws. I…

Cancel culture or accountability? The debate about “cancel culture,” or “call-out culture,” has been buzzing for years. Are call-outs and canceling really just accountability for bad behavior? Or are they the result of wokeness gone awry? I say yes and yes, depending on the situation. I’d like to examine this question in the context…