Ways of Seeing: In defense of being messy

“When we are brave enough to be a little messy in public, other people benefit.”

I challenge anyone to come up with a widespread student movement that was not proved morally correct over time, even if it was vilified by college administrations and the news media while it was happening.

Out of the entire Vermont State Senate, only five senators declined to vote “yes” on the resolution condemning the use of masked agents to kidnap students like Mohsen Mahdawi.

We have just passed the Jewish holiday of Purim, a time to commemorate the story of Queen Esther, who saved the Jewish people by persuading her husband that his advisor, Haman, was not to be trusted. Haman had hatched a wicked plan to kill all the Jews in … (read more)

Recently I read a statistic that really blew my mind. If you add up all the theft that happens in the U.S. annually, shoplifting, car break-ins, robberies, burglaries, the total amount is not even 4% of what employers steal from workers each year.

I would like to offer another (Jewish) perspective on the Apartheid Free Communities measure on the Vergennes town meeting ballot.

In 2020, Joanna Colwell launched a radical program at her yoga studio in Middlebury. The Yoga Equity Project would pay people of color to take classes there. The idea was to make Otter Creek Yoga a more inclusive space by breaking down two of the barriers … (read more)

Have you heard of the Thin Veneer Theory? This is the idea that underneath a thin layer of civility, inside we are all selfish brutes. Veneer Theory holds that in times of crisis, such as a natural disaster, people will be violent and harmful in order to … (read more)

It’s a rainy Monday afternoon in Ripton, and outside I hear crickets chirping. Tonight is the beginning of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and my heart is with the protesters calling for Kamala Harris to end all arms sales to Israel.

If you ask me how I am doing these days, I don’t know how to answer. My heart is breaking for Palestine. And my heart is breaking for American Jews, many of whom have dear friends and family in Israel, who are longing for safety and security.

It has now been more than six months since the Hamas attack of October 7, and about six months since Israel began raining bombs onto the people of Gaza.

Joanna Colwell and Lindsey Berk have for years faithfully rallied around humanitarian and environmental causes at the local level.

I taught my first yoga classes over thirty years ago, when my teacher and mentor Gayna took her annual two-month long winter trip to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and asked me to fill in for her while she was away.

The recent killing of three hostages by the Israeli military makes it even more clear that war has never been and will never be the answer.

Yesterday, Peter Welch joined the call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and today we will be bringing him a fresh loaf of challah bread to say thank you.