Category Archives: United States

Let Equality Evolve into Equity

Posted on 08/05/2020 by paulefallon

Equality is the foundation of a just society. In theory and in statute, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law even as, in practice, we often fall short. However, even if fully applied, strict equality will not deliver … Continue reading →

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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 →

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White Like Me

Posted on 07/08/2020 by paulefallon

In 1993, at age 38, I came out to myself as a gay man. I know, I know, a long time coming. From then, things moved pretty quick. Within weeks I came out to my wife. After a month of … Continue reading →

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The Pandemic We Deserve

Posted on 07/03/2020 by paulefallon

It is a truth universally acknowledged that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. Hence, our complacent, morally bankrupt, money dazzled, education-scorning, science-doubting electorate selects Donald Trump as our President. Over the past few months I have considered … Continue reading →

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The Optics of Equity

Posted on 06/24/2020 by paulefallon

First thought when I learned that Boston University is planning to reopen its campus this fall with an intensive COVID-19 testing policy that includes testing students as often as twice a week was: WOW! BU is handing one juicy plum … Continue reading →

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Imagine

Posted on 06/17/2020 by paulefallon

November 1971. I’m a pudgy, pimply sixteen-year-old lying on the back sofabed of an off-brand Winnebago. My father’s driving, happy on the move. My mother’s uncharacteristically silent. My little brother rolls matchbox cars around the table. I should be in … Continue reading →

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What the Heck Have I Been Doing?

Posted on 06/10/2020 by paulefallon

There’s a point in Marc Maron’s Netflix Comedy Special, ‘End Times Fun,’ when Marc (middle-aged white guy, sorta tall, skinny, bearded, salt and pepper scruff; basically me with quicker retort time) iterates the troubles of our era and then bemoans, … Continue reading →

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A Shared Approach to Addressing Our Housing Crisis

Posted on 06/25/2019 by paulefallon

The United States is experiencing a severe housing crisis. Cities with high housing demand are woefully short of supply. Over the past two decades, monthly rents have increased 40% more than wages. Over the past two generations, the ratio of … Continue reading →

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Four Years On

Posted on 06/18/2019 by paulefallon

Four years ago this month I sat out the afternoon sun in a Mexican cantina in Postville, Iowa, gorging on $6.95 fajitas and scrolling through the websites of the folks running for President. On Flag Day 2016, I asked each … Continue reading →

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A Folk-Art Flag for All of Us  

Posted on 06/12/2019 by paulefallon

June 14 is Flag Day; a day to honor the flag of the United States of America. Our nation’s standard includes thirteen alternating red and white horizontal stripes representing the original states, plus a blue field gridded with fifty white … Continue reading →

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