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Restoring unity will take us all

Wednesday’s inauguration brought sighs of relief heard around the globe. Two weeks after an armed insurrection, putting a close to the most tumultuous presidency in United States history, Joe Biden placed his hand on a 5-inch-thick Bible and took the oath of office. President Biden inherits a surging pandemic, stumbling economy and deeply divided country. Issues like climate change, racial injustice, social inequity, white nationalism and political extremism are fires that must be tended before they rage out of control. He and Vice President Kamala Harris have hit the ground ...

Ceremony just what we needed

The ceremony that installed Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. as the 46th president of the United States and Kamala Devi Harris as vice president was more than an inaugural. It was a much-needed affirmation that despite the most severe test it has ever withstood, this nation’s institutions held. Together, Biden and Harris, the first woman and person of color to hold that office, represent a fresh start for a weary nation battered by division and illness, brimming with an optimism and gravity of purpose that in the depths of our troubles lie seeds of renewal. Filled with majesty and heavy ...

King’s call for unity, equality

How can we better follow the example and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Area clergy and civic leaders told our reporter last week that in light of events in the past 12 months that included upheaval in our nation’s capital or that led to Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, there still is much work to do. King dedicated his life to service to our nation and in a fight for equality. But King never lived to see that racial unity. Today, more than 50 years after his death, we remember and renew his call for unity, equality and service. After all this nation has endured, ...

Local athletes face hard loss

Earlier this month, Maui high school athletes took to the street to wave signs in protest of the Maui Interscholastic League’s decision to cancel its fall and winter seasons. The students had been holding out hope their sports could be played after COVID-19 wiped out most of the prep calendar in 2020. Unfortunately, with coronavirus cases on Maui spiking and the pandemic surging worldwide, officials had little choice but to pull the plug on those hopes. While it is disappointing for the athletes, the fact that they are competitors means they have the tools to rise above this ...

Happiness in a world of stress

Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos expected around 50 students when she first offered her intro to happiness class titled, “The Psychology of the Good Life.” Imagine her surprise when more than 1,000 students, a full quarter of the stressed-out student body, signed up. When she offered the course online, 400,000 people registered. Professor Santos now also shares her tips as host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab. Even on mellow Maui her science-based suggestions and observations offer ways to deal with stressors like the global pandemic and job worries. Not all that ...

Giving into unfounded fears

Officials working to get the COVID-19 vaccine to those who need it most have run into an unfathomable problem. Health care workers are buying into the nonsense that the vaccine might not be safe, and are refusing the shot. Not all of them are so bull-headed, of course. Many are doing the right thing and getting the shots so they are safe AND they are doing their part to keep their patients safe. But in both nursing homes and hospitals across the country, a disturbing percentage of workers are falling prey to entirely unfounded fears — helped along by the lies and conspiracy theories ...