Newspaper columns Archives – Page 29 of 64

Grab death and scream “mine!” And what does it turn into?

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / March 19, 2016 / 2016, assisted suicide in Canada, assisted suicide worldwide, Canada's Bill C-41, death, doctor-assisted death, suffering / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 19, 2016)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ It was getting late and she, my 12-year-old, sat on the couch and looked into the nothingness and pulled from the air a comment as plain and profound as any.

“You know,” she said, “People don’t know how good they have it.”

This is what happens when you live in Africa. You see things. Life. People. Suffering. Death sometimes. You get perspective.

“They don’t know,” Liz said. “People don’t know.” Canadians don’t know. This is what she said.

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Hello, democracy? This is Africa calling. Again.

2 Comments / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / March 3, 2016 / 2016, African politics, democracy in Africa, Uganda's election 2016, Ugandan politics, Yoweri Museveni / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, March 3, 2016)

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Is this you? Democracy? It’s me, Africa, calling. Can we talk? About us? About our relationship? I mean, are you still interested?

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Where are the honest politicians?

Leave a Comment / Newspaper columns, The Standard / February 15, 2016 / 2016, Christianity, honesty in politics, poliiticians, politics / 3 minutes of reading

(The UCU Standard – Monday, February 15, 2016)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ Yoweri Museveni. Donald Trump. Jesus Christ. Who would you vote for? (Okay, if you find it too hard to imagine voting for Jesus per se, how about someone with Christ-like qualities?)

I mean, you can’t help but wonder what would happen if someone running for the presidency were to get up in front of microphones and cameras and scribblers and say something like this:

“If anyone running for this office doesn’t do so with the greatest fear and trepidation, shaking and trembling from the moment he leaves bed in the morning, then he’s a hopeless fool.

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Celebrating Family Day (and all the things that means)

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / February 13, 2016 / 2016, Family Day, family life, Froese biography, home, The Prodigal Son, travel / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, February 13, 2016)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ It was over lunch in Dundas with my sister, somewhere between the spring rolls and the coconut shrimp, when the question came without any hint to suggest this would be one of those ‘aha’ moments that can be unpacked and looked at and handled for a lifetime.

“So of all the places you’ve been,” she asked, “what’s your favourite?”

I might have said Paris or Berlin or Seoul, or maybe Amsterdam or London or Istanbul, or maybe somewhere in the Mid-East or Africa …

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How a world with assisted suicide would look

3 Comments / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / February 1, 2016 / 2016, death, doctor-assisted suicide, human rights, suffering, The Giver / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, February 1, 2016)

It’s 2049 and I’m an old man. I’ve made my decision. (At least I thought I made it.) It’s for release.

I’ve been given a choice in a pleasant manner for an injection or capsules. Soon this will all be over, another release into elsewhere, into eternity.

They’re out there, opinion polls on this procedure, on “release,” what in your day was called “doctor-assisted suicide.” Apparently most people are in favour. You have to wonder, though, about the questions.

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No matter how desperate, we are not alone in this world

Leave a Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / January 4, 2016 / 2016, African culture, Christmas, home, lost children, poverty, refugees, the road / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, January 4, 2016)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ It was evening and dark and dozens of voices, mostly African, by candlelight and under bright stars, were singing carols in front of our long-time East African home.

It was a moment to reflect on the days ending 2015, and a moment, also, when I was asked to say a word.

“So where does everyone go at Christmas?” I asked the kids more than anyone.

“Home!” they yelled into the night air.

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Caught between health care and (the worst parts of) religion

Leave a Comment / New Vision, Newspaper columns / December 12, 2015 / 2015, African culture, C-Sections, caesarian section in Uganda, caesarian sections in Africa, health care in Uganda, maternal mortality, religiosity, Women's rights / 5 minutes of reading

(The New Vision – Saturday, December 12, 2015)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ She questioned if having the surgery was “God’s will,” but the truth is that she was afraid and misguided and besides her own safety, she was leaving her unborn child’s life to hang dangerously in the balance.

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The spirited ways of Pope Francis

1 Comment / Hamilton Spectator, Newspaper columns / December 5, 2015 / 2015, African culture, Christianity, Pope Francis, Pope Francis in Africa, poverty, spirituality / 4 minutes of reading

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, December 5, 2015)

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ I am not Catholic.

And, like you, I have my images of fatherhood.

The better ones have more to do with the holiness of, say, my boy with a ball and a catching glove on our sun-filled front lawn than with the Holy Father coming to visit.

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