Why do we have to learn sad things?

It was just another tweet from a tweeter on the twitter, a quick stop on a casual scroll down the screen. Then I hit the brakes. 
 
“Today when I taught my 8th graders about the Indian Removal Act,” the tweeter tweeted, “one asked why they have to learn sad things, and I would love to hear your gentlest, sincerest responses to the 13-year-old behind that question.”
 
As my brain scratched around for suitable 280-character wisdom, I read through the replies. And they were gold. 
 
You can find that tweet, with all the beauty and power in those replies, right there on the twitter:
 

 

And a tiny sampling of those replies… Continue reading “Why do we have to learn sad things?”

Let Him Sit

kaep
photo: Sports Illustrated
flag and fortune: author

Last week I had dinner with an old friend. We ate upscale Chinese with a couple craft beers to wash it down. It was good. We’d hardly seen each other since high school.

We met in seventh grade. It was 1968, when Americans woke up every morning pissed off. Racism, patriotism, Vietnam, drugs, flag burning, police brutality, women’s lib, air pollution. Pick the issue and someone started screaming insults.

A lot like this election year.

We got up to leave and I finally brought it up. “Y’know, I gotta say, about this Colin Kaepernick thing…” Continue reading “Let Him Sit”