I think most of us become self-critical as soon as we become self-conscious.

We may never know why Joe Ellis fabricated a heroic past. But we know that the life he embellished has deeply diminished the life he'd earned.

Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but looking for potential.

Values are not trendy items that are casually traded in.

We criticize mothers for closeness. We criticize fathers for distance. How many of us have expected less from our fathers and appreciated what they gave us more? How many of us always let them off the hook?

Once upon a time we were just plain people. But that was before we began having relationships with mechanical systems. Get involved with a machine and sooner or later you are reduced to a factor.

Women have gained access to the institutions, but not enough power to overhaul them.