Yesterday, I was reflecting on 9/11, and all that has come since. I remained horrified by the events of that morning, as all of us who witnessed it were. And like so many of us who lived through that day, I was part of the national outpouring of patriotism and the quest for justice-gilded revenge which followed. 17 years later, with our country still at war in Afghanistan and Iraq, I am forced to look at the days that followed September 11, 2001 in a different light, and t

Our nation’s ongoing battle with racism has come to the fore again, and those of you who know me may wonder at my recent silence. I wish I could say that it was due to the tempo of operations where I am deployed with the Army National Guard, but that would be a lie. The truth is more difficult to unravel, and do so in a way that does not run me afoul of one oath or the other. For me to address the shift in our nation which I believe has led to the outburst of racism and in

2016 was as contentious a year in the life of this nation as I have experienced, at least since the late 60’s/early 70s, in the waning days of the Vietnam War, and the waxing days of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movement. We appear to be as polarized a society as we have ever been, and unlike many inaugural years following election years, there does not seem to be an end in sight. There is not a sense of “Well, now we’ve all agreed on a government, so let’s get to work” as