The Forest for the Trees

  I knew a girl in high school. I didn't know her as well as others. A good friend of mine loved her.  She lit up the room, the stage, my good friend's face. She was talented, bright, funny. She was one of a kind, but you know others like her. One night she got in the car parked in her garage, turned the key, set down a couple letters next her, pressed play and sat back. The garage door was closed.  I don't remember the rest of the story. I don't remember who found her. She had been dead for a while. I don't even remember how old she was.  But this isn't about her death.  25 years later I knew another girl. I didn't know her as well as others.  A friend of mine who doesn't do handshakes with students had a special handshake with her.  She lit up the room, the hallway, her friends' faces. She was talented, bright, funny. She was one of a kind, but you know others like her. One day she was in a car, the back seat. We think the impact killed her immedia...

  Institutions are funny things, especially public institutions. Take public schools. They are supposed to stand for something, but not take a stance on anything. Say the pledge everyday but don't argue about what "and justice for all" means. School boards can be political, but the districts they govern should carry out political decisions without political motivation.  But there is an uncomfortable and untenable situation in my community on which public institutions should take a stance. In 2021 our county board voted against declaring our county “A Community for All” in response to the growing national discussion prompted by the public murder of George Floyd, citing reverse-discrimination. (Read the New York Times coverage  here .)  More recently, controversy has erupted in a local district over the alleged use of racial slurs and insensitive comments toward our Hmong population by a band teacher. The teacher was recently reinstated with what appears to be full sup...