View from the North 40: A historical moment should be celebrated

I successfully built and hung a gate this week. It bears pointing out that I conquered my nemesis, the hanging of a gate, by getting the thing hung level and plumb. It swings freely and quietly both to and fro. It looks good doing it. I should be giddy, overjoyed, brimming with pride and other degrees of over-the-moonness, and yet no.

At best I feel a sort of grim satisfaction.

I was raised well before the era of participation ribbons, nobody cared about bolstering our feelings. If we wanted a sense of pride, we’d have to work for it — for years — and any attagirls and attaboys would have to c...