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The Golden Rule

Our View

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The ancient maxim, whose precise origins have been lost to history, appears across cultures and civilizations. Ancient Egypt, Greece, India, China and Persia (modern-day Iran) all had iterations of this fundamental ethical principle as early as a thousand years before it appeared in the Gospel of Matthew. The sentiment crosses religious boundaries as well, appearing in Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Islamic and Confucian traditions, to name only a few. To say the Rule is a foundational principle of human culture is perhaps even an ...

Applause, Applause

Columns

Each Saturday, The Express community newspaper highlights people, groups and activities our readers deem worthy of applause. “The Porter Township Library staff would like to THANK The Express for mentioning our summer library program in Around the Town! The children had a great time and the program was a success! Thanks again! — Sharon Fuge and the Porter Township Library Staff YOU HAVE THE POWER If you would like to make a nomination for our weekly Saturday morning round of “Applause” for someone or some group for doing something special, send your nomination to ...

Dear Annie: Mother in the middle

Columns

Dear Annie: I’m writing for advice about a dear friend, “Meg,” who we’ve known for more than 40 years. She has a son, “Rodney,” who went to high school with our son and who has always been on the edge of being an outlaw. Over the years, we’ve seen Rodney continuously depend on his parents to finance his escapades. We saw him wreck his car and then his parents’ so that, for a time, the family had no means of transportation. We saw Meg pay for a very expensive college education where he only took one course: bowling. We saw Rodney join a fraternity where he quickly ...

Dear Annie: The perpetual plus-one

Columns

Dear Annie: I’m 29, living in New York City, with a job I love and a great group of friends — none of whom are single. Half are married or engaged, the other half coupled up in serious relationships. I’m generally OK being single, but going out as the perpetual third wheel is wearing on me. I’ve thought about making new friends; I’ve even thought about moving cities. I’ve also caught myself secretly hoping my coupled friends break up, which I know is terrible. How do I find my people? — Odd One Out Dear Odd One Out: The odd seat out can feel isolating. Don’t be too hard ...

Woman loses consciousness when getting into her wheelchair

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mother lives with me. She’s 88 and on hospice. She’s totally bedridden. Her brain is fine, but her body has failed her. The problem is that if I try and get her out of the bed for anything (a change of scenery, to change the sheets, etc.), within minutes of getting her into a wheelchair, her blood pressure crashes, and she loses consciousness. Obviously, this is a huge issue. She’s always complained of a lifelong “vasovagal” issue. This also happened occasionally before she was on hospice, and her cardiologist gave her a new medication — midodrine. But ...

Trump’s most powerful enablers wear judicial robes

Columns

In the first Federalist Paper, Alexander Hamilton warned that a great risk to liberty comes from those who start out as “demagogues” and end up as “tyrants.” He nevertheless judged the risk worth taking to establish a constitutional republic. He can be forgiven for taking that chance. Back in 1787, there was no obvious suspect on the horizon about to overturn the new republic — certainly not George Washington, the inevitable choice for the new nation’s first president. Today’s justices of the U.S. Supreme Court cannot be let off so easily. A potential tyrant has arisen ...