Short Story: The Spice of Life… In a Small Town

[Published in Life Will Surprise You in the End (2014).]

The Spice of Life… In a Small Town

It started as an inconsequential, even trivial, comment. Ray and Jolynn Anderson were spending a little time on their porch swing. They liked to swing and talk like this several times a week – just swinging and talking about this and that – several times a day when the weather was fine and nothing needed tending. They would wave to any neighbors who walked or drove by and then they would talk about their neighbors too. Today, they were killing a little time until Jolynn’s usual appointment for a check up with Dr. Madison.

Life in small town Kansas could be demanding in the way that milking cows or taking out the trash or going to church was demanding. There were just things that you had to do regularly and do just-so. And if you didn’t, then somebody would roll their eyes and then, if you still didn’t get on the ball, you started hearing about it. Ray hated it when Miss Bessie, the cow, Mrs. Anderson, his wife, or Pieter Wojicke, the Pastor, rolled their eyes.

Life could also be demanding in the way that a tornado or a wedding or

Essay: A liberal education is needed to participate in democracy

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A liberal education is needed to participate in democracy

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

A liberal education is needed to participate in democracy

Our Democracy requires the participation of informed citizens. How do citizens become competent to become active in government, working to create a better country for their neighbors? Education at home and at school is a key factor.

A successful democracy assumes that people are basically good and decent and that they should make responsible choices for themselves. Without the general moral and intellectual capacity of its citizens, it would be impossible for a constitution to grant universal citizenship and self-governance.

Parents and schools are expected to bring out the best in our children. The best involves more than prescribed knowledge and obedience to authority; it includes self-knowledge, self-discipline, and the enduring desire to keep on learning. We hope to maximize every child’s potential. We want every person to have the liberty and ability to pursue the adventure of a productive and satisfying life. Further, we expect that the success of every person contributes to the collective success of our communities and our nation.

As children develop into mature adults, they should be able to understand their