Should college athletes be paid? That’s been the central question surrounding the NCAA for decades. But the question is vague and can’t be answered without some clarity.

In general, the term “college athletes” refers to all student-athletes, but advocates for paying college players aren’t referring to all student-athletes. “Paying college athletes” refers to paying the male athletes in revenue-generating sports, i.e., big-time college football and basketball featured on major television networks. (That’s less than 10 percent of all student-athletes.)

It’s easy to see the initial problem here.

The majority of student-athletes were never considered in this payment plan. Now, suppose…

Last week a conservative talk radio host discussed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on his daily program. The radio host complained he kept hearing people say the United States should never have invaded Afghanistan. He excused individuals under thirty because they learned about 9/11 in high school, but he felt there was no excuse for individuals over forty to utter such nonsense. The radio host insisted destroying al-Qaeda, toppling the Taliban, and nation building were honorable goals even though they didn’t come to fruition.

Apparently, the radio host has a selective memory. After 9/11 all Americans understood the need for…

Then I thought in my heart, the fate of the fool will overtake me…

Ecclesiastes

THE INITIATION OF A FOOL

After our commencement

The graduates were divided

My division was assigned to the Inner Asylum

Then we were introduced to our employers

The superintendents of failure

The superintendents told each graduate to step forward

Tear up our teaching certificates

Declare ourselves facilitators of failure

And pledge allegiance to The Asylum

When it was my turn to step forward

I stood still and remained silent

The superintendents of failure were shocked

They surrounded me

I thought I failed their test

But…

At the start of the 20th century, an editorial cartoon illustrated Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden. The poem expressed the grand idea of colonialism. The cartoon showed John Bull, the personification of Great Britain, and his counterpart Uncle Sam trekking up a steep hill made of boulders toward a gold statue. The boulders underneath their feet were inscribed with the words: Superstition, Cannibalism, Slavery, Oppression, Brutality, and Vice. The gold statue at the top of the hill held a sign that said: Civilization. John Bull and Uncle Sam were hunched over with huge baskets strapped to their backs. The…

Last month, President Biden announced the “drawdown of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan” will be complete by Aug. 31. The Commander-in-chief was asked if a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable. Biden dismissed the concern by emphasizing the military advantage. Biden said the Afghan government had 300,000 well-equipped troops and an air force against 75,000 Taliban fighters.

On August 15, headlines across the world stated: Afghanistan’s government collapsed as the Taliban overran the capital city. The next day, President Biden was forced to address the nation about the chaos in Afghanistan. Biden told the American people the following facts.

1)…

During the first decade of the 20th century W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington had a philosophical rivalry. Dubois predicted the problem of the 20th century would be the color-line. He basically forecasted the permanents of white supremacy in America. Before Washington died in 1915, he made a contrasting statement. He didn’t intend to predict the future, but his statement was prophetic.

Washington said, “There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a…

Last week’s column centered around the latest Gallup poll that said, “Positive ratings of relations between black and white Americans are at their lowest point in more than two decades.” I asked if pessimism was warranted about the future of race relations in America because a writer from the USA Today implied pessimism was a foregone conclusion, but I gave a reason for optimism. Unfortunately, optimism about the future of race relations in America is considered naïve.

So, what does a pessimistic future look like? Two men named Charles tackled this question. One issued a warning, the other a manifesto.

…

Recently, USA Today’s Mike Freeman interviewed tennis superstar Serena Williams. At the end, Freeman asked Williams if she felt optimistic about the future of race relations in America. Freeman asked because the current Gallup poll revealed positive ratings of relations between black and whites in the United States were at their lowest point in the 21st century.

Williams replied, “Is that a trick question?”

Freedman responded, “No, I’m not trying to trick you.”

Williams said, “I’m answering your question.”

Freeman didn’t intend to be tricky, but that’s the nature of black-white relations in America.

In 1990, The Christian Science Monitor…