Sub macho men

Sam Smith – I have come to regard men who attack gays, women who have abortions, or immigrants as pseudo or sub macho guys because they are defining themselves not by their own virtues but by the fact that they dislike someone else. This is a weak self description but one we have come to …

Bringing politics home

Sam Smith - Every day I scan a couple of thousand headlines from numerous news sources. One of the things I've learned from this is that most news these days is purportedly about the powerful. News that might affect thousands  or millions of ordinary individuals is secondary or just ignored. This is something I'm sensitive …

Things to do right now

 Sam Smith Work on making your community more in line with the great traditional values of our land. You may not be able to change Washington, but you can change your town. Work on issues that are valued across ethnicity and across genders.  People who work together learn to like each other. Get learning civics, …

Beyond ethnicity and gender

Sam Smith - I belong to the ethnic group "me." While I have white skin and male body works, these are trivial characteristics compared to the idiosyncrasies of my daily nature and behavior. One of the jobs of a writer, after all, is not to repeat the words and habits of others. When I'm feeling …

Why liberals don’t do better

Sam Smith - Joe Biden's plan to ease college student loans would be quite a different story if he had also passed along a similar advantage to middle and low income non college students. But liberals don't do that much these days. It's one reason they're not doing better. And because they're not doing better, …

Psalm of the fast lane

SAM SMITH, 1986The Lord is my mentor; I shall want it all.He feedeth me in world-class restaurants and leadeth me beside the sparkling mineral waters.He restoreth my house and bringeth me in the path of good access.Yea, though I jog through the valley of the shadow of high rises I shall fear no viable competition; …

My competitive deficit disorder

Sam Smith - Some of my worst childhood moments were on the middle school playground of my Philadelphia public school. My parents had no interest in sports and no interest in how their children performed in them. There were few kids in the neighborhood to teach me. Thus unschooled, I would inevitably find myself last …

The role of schools in the current disaster

Sam Smith – One thing that is rarely mentioned as we struggle against growing attacks on freedom and ethnic minorities is that our school systems have increasingly emphasized individual achievement over such matters as democracy, ethnic relations, community, and cultural fairness. As selfish capitalism and competition have grown in significance, the  skills and standards of …

The weak opposition to what’s happening now

Sam Smith – Lately, I’ve been struck by the weakness of opposition to what is happening to our country and its values. Sure there are progressive commentators listing the crimes and a few things such as abortion and climate change  that garner significant opposition, but especially among the young there is no mass demand for …

Some tips for young writers

Written by Sam Smith in 2017 as part of a local Maine high school writing contest Writing isn’t about winning; it’s about saying things that others understand, learn from and appreciate. They may be your class mates rather than just some old judges. So just keep writing Writing is a trade or craft not a …

Tales from the attic: Jackson Elementary School

 Sam Smith - My elementary school in DC was several blocks away from our house, a classic red brick building with small playgrounds on either side. There were four teachers for 160 kids. Two of the teachers were maiden sisters and everyone, student and parent, called them The Fat Miss Waddy and The Thin Miss …

The local could save us

 Sam Smith – The powerful in our land these days consist mainly of the criminal and/or corrupt and of others afraid to do anything much about it all. This leaves any positive change in the hands of ordinary Americans and their local communities. I live in one of these communities in Maine, population 8,000,  and …

Where Trump came from and where we can go now

Sam Smith - In trying to figure out how someone as absurd as Donald Trump has been so successful, I've come up with several answers: The rise of corporatism: Lyndon Johnson, the last truly progressive president, said, "To put it simply, I am a Democrat by conviction. The Democratic Party has more to offer the …

Before the lies of Donald Trump

Sam Smith – Long before the arrival of Donald Trump, America was into lies. For example, Wikipedia reports: [][][] In Propaganda (1928), [Edward] Bernays argued that the manipulation of public opinion was a necessary part of democracy. In public relations, lobby groups are created to influence government policy, corporate policy or public opinion, typically in …

America’s real divide

Sam Smith – Although we spend an extraordinary amount of time talking about sources of hate in this land and what to do about it, we spend only a tiny amount figuring out how to get along better and have more fun with other Americans. There are a few exceptions, such as the last five …