Contrary to the TV commercials, America does not run on Dunkin'. Increasingly, it runs on bashin', as in bashing our political (or any other) opponents. Skepticism and snarkiness are now the aging parents of a toxicity no one could have imagined ten years ago.

Example. The very day we read about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death, I saw a fellow train commuter’s phone flashing the headline, “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”  And to t[...] 

When you are six, learning to whistle is a big deal. When you are six, learning to snap your fingers is also a big deal. And may I remind you that when you are six, losing your first tooth is definitely a big deal?

So it was that we received spirited updates on all these major life events from Emma, who is indeed six years old. As we listened in person or on FaceTime, we heard her snaps grow louder and her whistle less airy. We watched as her tooth grew wigglier and wigglier.

We waited at the counter—but nobody seemed to notice.

At a certain fast food Mexican chain (no names here, but their logo might feature a purple bell), we attempted to pay for our lunch. Mind you, we’d already placed our order at the kiosk, so as not to “trouble” any of the workers with—well, customers.

We might still be there waiting were it not for a crew member who stepped out of the restroom and saw us stranded at the counter. She took pit[...]