W.D. Ehrhart

by W.D. Ehrhart I do not advocate, have never advocated, and never will advocate for the murder of anyone, and nothing I am about to write negates what I’ve just said.  Though I have no doubt that at least some people will claim I am doing just that, it is not true. Truth, however, seems to have little value in Trumpian America.  I cannot stop the Trumpasaurians from thinking and saying and believing what they think and say and believe.  But the real and actual truth is that I am not glad or grateful or relieved that Charlie Kirk was murdered. There is, however, a …

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It isn’t that I feargrowing older—such things as fear,reluctance or desireplay no part at allexcept as light and shadow sweep a hillsideon a Sunday afternoon,astonishing the eye but passing onat sunset with the landstill unchanged: the same rocks,the same trees, tall grass gently drifting—merely that I do not understandhow my age has come to meor what it means. It’s almost like some smallforest creature one might findoutside the door some frosty autumn morning,tired, lame, uncomprehending,almost calm.You want to stroke its fur,pick it up, mend the leg and send itscampering away—but somethingin its eyes says, “No,this is how I live, and how I die.”And so, a …

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by W.D. Ehrhart A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer was headlined: “700 new Philly teachers show up to day 1 of work in ‘the most critical profession on the planet’.” The quote in the headline is from Debora Carrera, the city’s chief education officer, who at greater length later in the article says: “Teaching is the most noble profession on the planet. It is the most critical profession on the planet.” I spent a good portion of my life teaching high school. And I constantly heard over and over again how “noble” the profession of teaching is, how critical teachers are to our children, …

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by W.D. Ehrhart Ever since one of my students suggested it to me back in about 2003, I have been reading a weekly news digest called—take a guess—The Week. It’s a compendium of information drawn from sources all over the U.S., and even internationally, in print and online. Last month, I took a break from the world when my wife and I drove up to the Adirondack Mountains and spent four days with old friends of ours who live there. No news. No noise. Lots of wildlife: a mother deer with twin fawns still in spots, three wild turkeys, a hummingbird that hovered for over …

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by W.D. Ehrhart Readers may remember the essay of mine that The New Hampshire Gazette published on May 30th called “A Part of You Will Die with Us,” prompted by a letter written by a Palestinian woman named Rawand Gawad Abu Ghanem and finding its way to me via the playwright Naomi Wallace and the scholar and anthologist Lorrie Goldenson. Rawand’s letter details the terrible hardships and dangers she and everyone living in Gaza have had to endure since October 7th, 2023, when the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) began what has become the utter destruction and decimation of Gaza …

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from around the United States June 14th, 2025 sent to me by various friends & acquaintances proving that a significant number of Americans still care about things like democracy, the Constitution, law & justice, fairness, tolerance, decency, honesty, kindness, caring, and all the other virtues so sadly lacking in too many of those who govern our country, and in those who support them. We cannot, however, allow June 14th to be a once-and-done event.  We must find the courage to make our actions equal our words. Each time each of us has a decision to make—be it large or small, together or alone—we must try …

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