Category Archives: Uncategorized

Salve November’s Guilty Conscience: NOW

Posted on 10/07/2020 by paulefallon

“I just don’t know what I’ll do if I wake up on November 4 and Donald Trump’s won.” “I’ll die if Trump wins the election. Then move to Canada.” Thus are the refrains I hear from friends who, in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2020 Presidential election, civic duty, vote | 2 Comments

Referee Whistle: How to Broadcast the Presidential Debates

Posted on 09/30/2020 by paulefallon

The dominant feeling that flushed over me at the end of last nights’ debate was: I am embarrassed to be an American. This is the state of our democracy. A mediocre moderator unable to guide a fork-tongued crank and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, United States | Tagged Presidential Debates | 4 Comments

The Patriotism of Isolation

Posted on 09/23/2020 by paulefallon

This week’s post is penned by my niece, Caroline Bringenberg, an LA-based Millennial activist who challenges me to think about the world I am leaving the next generation. Growing up I remember hearing stories, at home and in history class, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Caroline Bringenberg, citizenship, coronavirus, Rosie the Riveter, World War II | 6 Comments

The Measure of All Things

Posted on 09/09/2020 by paulefallon

Pat Barker’s 1992 novel, Regeneration, is about many things. The futility of war, the assumptions of Freudian psychotherapy, the defacto caste system of early twentieth century Britain, the absurdity of England’s attitude towards homosexuals. An anti-war novel without a single … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Freudian analysis, Pat Barker, Regeneration, WWI England, WWI shell shock | Leave a comment

Two-Way Affirmative Action

Posted on 09/03/2020 by paulefallon

Recently, I completed a survey from Beth Israel Lahey Health, the mother ship of Mount Auburn Hospital, where I volunteer three days a week. It was a simple, two question survey from the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Career … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, United States | Tagged Affirmative Action, Black Lives Matter, essential employees, living wage | 7 Comments

Pool Paddle

Posted on 08/26/2020 by paulefallon

A few years ago a friend of mine was minding his sister-in-law Adelaide’s son for the afternoon. The day was hot and sticky, so Mike took five-year-old Zach to a local pool. When it was time to go home, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, United States | Tagged personal responsibility, police brutality, restorative justice, transformative justice | 1 Comment

Measuring Experience

Posted on 08/19/2020 by paulefallon

Toni Morrison once told Hilton Als that being a black woman writer is “…richer than being a white male writer because I know more and have more experience.” (The New Yorker, October 27, 2003). Immediately upon reading that phrase, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged F. Scott Fitxgerald, human experience, Marcel Proust, Marlene Dietrich, Toni Morrison | Leave a comment

August Recess

Posted on 08/12/2020 by paulefallon

I received an email ripe with despair from an activist mentor the other day, her festering rage deflated by exhaustion and lost hope. Instead of rallying her to carry on, I took a different tack. Told her to take a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Long Blue Line

Posted on 07/29/2020 by paulefallon

“It shall not be lawful for any negroe or other slave to carry or arme himself with any club, staffe, gunn, sword or any other weapon of defense or offence, nor to goe or depart from his masters ground without … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, United States | Tagged History of Police, Jill Lepore, Police, Slave Codes, The New Yorker | Leave a comment

STOP Trusting Polls

Posted on 07/22/2020 by paulefallon

Independence Day is in the rear-view mirror. Labor Day looms, and with it, the final laps of this Presidential marathon. Biden leads nationally by eight percentage points. Biden and Trump are tied in Wisconsin. Biden widens gap in crucial Pennsylvania. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment