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Steve Nelson

Steve Nelson is a retired educator, author, and newspaper columnist. He and his wife Wendy moved to Erie from Manhattan in 2017 to be near family. He was a serious violinist and athlete until a catastrophic mountain bike accident in 2020. He now specializes in gratitude and kindness.

http://www.stevenelson.substack.com

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We Are Barbarians Too

November 11, 2023 1 0 Steve Nelson

As the human toll mounts in Gaza, the irrational justifications for, and execution of, war are front of mind. I won’t wade into the complex history of the region or opine one way or another on the oppression or bigotry…

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Bonfire of the Humanities

November 3, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

They are not called the “Humanities” for nothing. The latest debate on college campuses, perhaps rivaled only by the corrosive tension around anti-Semitism, is the dismal state of the humanities. A recent New York Times piece reported the nationwide assault…

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America Has a Mental Health Problem

October 26, 2023 1 0 Steve Nelson

“It’s a mental health problem.” That and the usual “thoughts and prayers.” If there is a God, she must be tiring of this endless flood from the United States. This was the response from many GOP politicians to the mass…

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Where Are The Peacemakers?

October 19, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

I cannot bear to look at the images from Israel and Gaza yet I cannot bear to look away. A dead child does not judge. Whether her last moment came at the edge of a Hamas blade or at…

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Real Life is Better for Children

September 28, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

“This car climbed Mt. Washington.” This bumper sticker is commonly seen in New England and refers to the highest peak in the East. As is implied, there is a winding road to the summit. The bumper stickers never fail to…

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Sub-Prime Time

September 25, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

Sub-Prime time. Like mortgages of the same description, the University of Colorado is paying a high price for a few moments in the spotlight. I’m not gloating because the Buffs were blown out of the water by the Oregon Ducks. …

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A Different View of 9/11

September 18, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

9/11 changed this country profoundly. Not for the better. As another anniversary passed with the usual – and appropriate – grieving and remembrances, my thoughts went back to that day and its aftermath. I stood on the plaza as Calhoun…

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Theater Kids Rule!

September 10, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

A recent New York Times piece cited the perhaps surprising frequency with which so-called “theater kids” occupy lead roles in a surprising range of vocations and avocations. As the article notes, the skills and collaboration developed in theater are superb…

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Hate Kills

August 22, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

Early this month Robert Bowers, who slaughtered 11 people and wounded six more at Pittsburg’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, was sentenced to death by a federal jury. Last week, Laura Ann Carleton, a California shop owner and…

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School Days

August 18, 2023 1 0 Steve Nelson

Wednesday was the first day of the new school year for our 3rd-grade grandson. Our 7th-grade granddaughter began a day later. The first day of school is magical, although I’ve yet to adjust to a pre-Labor Day start. Squinting from…