Recent shame Commentaries

The Death of Shame
Over the past several months, I’ve written commentaries revisiting moments in our history when individuals confronted serious challenges and rose to meet them — to remind us who we are and what we stand for. After writing about the tragedy in Minneapolis, I briefly turned to Steve Allen, an entertainer known for his intelligent wit — not to diminish what...
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February 9, 2026
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Hearts and Minds
There’s a moment in Cool Hand Luke when Luke, played by Paul Newman, is returned to a prison camp after escaping. Determined to break his...
The Ethics of Belonging
I recently read a book by a man who has learned some of life’s hardest lessons and, by his own account, is still learning them...
The Best of Us
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things—not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” When...
The Standard Washington Set
Much has been written about George Washington, our first American president: his command of the Continental Army, his leadership in the fragile birth of a...
Who We Were. Who We Are…
Today, America is 250 years old. This Fourth of July, amid deep national division, it seems worth asking a simple question: Which of our country’s...
Are We Still Worthy of What They Declared?
Conclusion: The Words That Made Us and Still Must.  In December of 1776, the Revolution was not moving toward triumph. It was close to collapse....