It is a sad day for our democracy and the First Amendment when teachers, even those of elementary schoolers, must fear teaching students how to be good citizens of the world, how to ask good questions and seek out answers.

Alabama is actively participating in child abuse. I am not OK with this. Who would be?

I’ve written before about my personal connection to gun violence but only once in decades because that’s the only time I could bear to wade into how gun violence has shaped me as a person. Those waters are deep and murky.

Over the years, the grounds crews added tree cradles to help support its large, heavy branches, to keep them off the ground, and from breaking and decaying. Over those same years the tree struggled to stand tall. I did too – through two divorces, and deaths of various family members and pets.

In Tuscaloosa, where the trees grow sideways, we’ve passed the 50-yard-line on a decade and I’m scared. The duplicity of healing, coupled with the need to hold onto that awful moment, is difficult.

This week is Sunshine Week, a time when journalists everywhere will be perceived by the public as complaining about things we don’t have. But here is why this matters to everyone, not just journalists: An informed society is a better, more democratic society. Without all of the information, how can we make the best decisions?