Hate has no home here — but love must

This post originally was published in the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) on Friday, April 5, 2019 after two incidents of Nazi and white supremacist vandalism at five locations in Norman and Oklahoma City. Norman Police Department has since arrested one woman in connection with the crimes.   One year ago I wrote about …

Razors, babies and racists, oh my! The week in an America ruled by fear

The absence Tuesday of Martin Luther King Jr., on what should have been his 90th birthday, was made sadder by how far we continue to fall short of his dream. An obvious example came Jan. 10, when Rep. Steve King of Iowa wondered aloud how white supremacy and white nationalism became offensive. Less obvious, but …

‘A generational fight’ — Protest organizer recalls desegregating Enid restaurants

This post originally ran as an article in the Sept. 4, 2018 edition of the Enid News & Eagle. It is the third article in a three-part series on sit-in protests and restaurant desegregation in Enid, Oklahoma. ENID, Okla. — On Sept. 4, 1958, 60 years ago today, Enid restaurant owners concluded a meeting with …

Lunch counter sit-ins: 60 years later, organizers recall desegregating restaurants

This package of two articles originally was published in the Enid News & Eagle, Enid, Okla., on Aug. 26, 2018, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of lunch counter protests that ended segregation in the city's restaurants and helped shape later civil rights protests throughout the South. ENID, Okla., Aug. 27, 2018 — Sixty years …

Celebrate true patriotism this weekend

  It’s Memorial Day weekend, which means it’s time to dust off those flags in the back of the closet, fire up the grill and indulge in our annual orgy of patriotic fervor. It is appropriate to honor our nation’s fallen service men and women, and to thank veterans, especially those permanently damaged by war in body, …

Fostering understanding through ‘Mercy’

OKLAHOMA CITY — As a boy, Imam Imad Enchassi saw two radically different views of Christianity — one of peace and love, the other of violence committed in God's name. As an adult, Enchassi works to foster peace and understanding between Oklahoma's Muslim community and Christians, Jews and other faith groups — a mission he …

Truth and reconciliation … one small act of love at a time

I normally wouldn’t advise seeking wisdom on Facebook. It’s become a trash soup of hate mongering, clickbait and fake news trolls — all mixed in with the cat videos and actual news we all want to see. But, if you use a fine enough sieve, you can still find some gems of wisdom in the …

King’s struggle remains relevant

America paused Wednesday to remember Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. It’s good to honor MLK. But, too often, we confine him to sentimental memory. A great man, dead too soon. With our obligatory honor paid, we box up the injustices against which Dr. King fought, and file them away …

2018: The choice before us

In his “Discourses,” Niccolo Machiavelli outlined a predictable cycle of power for republics. Machiavelli pointed to a gradual decline in republican virtue, culminating in a crucial point of decision. At that point, when virtue is all-but lost, the people must choose — either to drastically adjust course back to their founding principles, or else decline …

Giving thanks for the harvest to come

Thanksgiving has passed, leftovers are packed away, and, if we’re lucky, the antacids are working. Hopefully we took time to give thanks. I am blessed with an amazing wife, two wonderful daughters, good friends, a reverent and inspiring church, my job and a warm place to sleep tonight, among other blessings. But, I’d like to …