Opinion

Washington -- Over the weekend, I came across an article in The Washington Post that, by and large, I actually agreed with. I know you are not going to believe it, but hear me out. It had the unwelcoming title “History Isn’t Just for Patriots.” Yes, I know what you are thinking. Who ever thought history was solely for patriots? Yet the piece was written by a historian by the name of Daniel Immerwahr, so I proceeded. The teaching of history in high school and college is endangered, so let us hear what the prof has to say.

Dear Annie: Sometimes, in the course of conversation with someone who has an accent, I’ll find myself mimicking their speech. It’s entirely unintentional and embarrassing, and I’m sure it irritates the other person. I’ve had to explain multiple times to people of varying vernaculars that I’m not mocking them. How do I defuse awkward situations like this, short of avoiding conversation in the first place? -- Don’t Shoot the Mockingbird

Nearly everyone has seen the classic movie “The Shawshank Redemption.” Well, it turns out there is a real life “Red” Redding, the character played by Morgan Freeman. He is in prison in Alabama. He has been there for nearly 40 years. He was guilty of his crime: a murder he committed as a teenager in a drug operation. But so many people who have interacted with Rutledge in prison see the similarities in character with Red.

One of the many beauties of freedom is there is always surprise. Georgia voters might consider what is happening in California as the nation’s blue-state poster child turns purple.

Dear Annie: My husband has a HUGE family. They gather every year between Christmas and New Year’s Eve in a hotel for at least three days. They are planning to do so this year, during the pandemic. So far, most of them plan on going, which would be almost 80 people. They are coming from Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington and Maryland. I, of course, will not be attending.

Very soon, a year of a deadly pandemic, social isolation, job loss and political chaos will come to an end. The coronavirus will continue its rampage but seems destined to hit a wall around late spring. Life will return to normal, we are told.

Who could have predicted how dreadful a year 2020 would be. By this New Year’s Eve, 19 million to 20 million Americans will have contracted a deadly virus in a pandemic that exploded out of China to carry off 333,000 Americans, one of every 1,000 of us.

Dear Annie: My son has been dating a girl for a little over three years. My husband and I really like her. Our son loves her. Here’s the problem: I have asked her before to help in the kitchen with meal preparation and cleanup, and she refuses.

My friend Mark Russell, the wonderful American humorist, had an ironclad prediction: The results of the 2020 Census will show that more than 215,000 Americans, in the coming year, will reach the age of 100, and Russell adds, “All of them will have valid Florida driver’s licenses.” The unreelected 45th president is (sadly) that rare human being with neither an embarrassment gene nor a sense of humor. A sense of humor usually indicates perspective in its possessor.

What would our nation look like if every day, every American -- of every background and ethnicity -- were to wake up with the conviction that they are 100% responsible for the circumstances of their lives?