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American anger — and unity

Christmastime is a season of unity and peace on Earth. How fitting that this year, not even a month until Christmas, something happened which has somewhat strangely brought people together: the killing of a UnitedHealthcare CEO. Aside from being fascinating from the true-crime aspect, the murder has captured peoples’ attention in part because a large subset of the population agrees with the killer. Perhaps most surprisingly, though, the people who are agreeing on this subject are from all walks and political sides. Make no mistake: we are not advocating for reckless violence, ...

‘Where are they?’

This week, The Express reported on the city council meeting where the council approved the nativity scene now displayed in Triangle Park. It’s a beautiful addition, and we’re fortunate to have a wonderful view of it from our office. We feel blessed. On the same day, we shared our opinion on the meeting itself. While we won’t revisit the topic in depth today, one question raised during that meeting has stayed with us: “Where are they?” As a longstanding part of this community — serving Clinton County for over 140 years — The Express holds a unique position. We’re not ...

Standing down, not standing up

What a display took place before Lock Haven City Council at this week’s meeting! The start of the meeting was standing room only, with scores of concerned citizens present to voice their opinions. The subject? Not the city’s budget, even though it’s the middle of budget season and few things — even national politics — affect residents more than the decisions of their local officials. No, the subject was a use request for the Clinton County Ministerium to put up its nativity scene in Triangle Park. We aren’t going to belabor the details here — there are 2,500 words on ...

Thanksgiving a time for gratitude

Thanksgiving — giving thanks — we get it. At best, it’s well-worn — at worst, cliche. And yet, at the same time, the concept of gratitude itself is frequently only paid lip service. It’s a time for list articles citing what the writer is thankful for; a time for reminders to hold loved ones dear on the brighter side — and memento mori on the darker. Truly holding gratitude is something else. It can shift attitude and worldviews. Thanksgiving is, in many ways, a selfish holiday — at least how it’s marketed: “I want to give thanks for XYZ.” Gratitude ...

The Golden Rule is corroding

An opinion piece in yesterday’s paper by columnist Jessica Johnson referenced the need for the Golden Rule, citing Luke 6:31 — Do to others as you would have them do to you, as the verse states. The coming weeks and months — and years — will likely see much discussion about free speech, “wokeness” and other cultural hot topics. Let us be blunt in our stance. Like many Americans, we were raised to hold the Golden Rule in high regard. The Golden Rule was codified as such in the 17th century by Anglican priests, although the concept itself, known as reciprocity, can be ...

Margins amongst the marginalized

As the dust settles from the rollercoaster election season, we would like to call attention to something we found particularly interesting while going over the preliminary election results for local candidates. State Rep. Paul Takac, a Democrat, appears to have won re-election amidst a horrendous cycle for Democratic incumbents. There could be many reasons for this, admittedly. But we want to hone in on one possibility. State Sen. Cris Dush and Takac have been working together to bring bipartisan aid to Snow Shoe, among other rural areas. It’s caught our eye a few times — most ...