Remember the chain letters of the 1980s and 1990s that promised money or recipes galore? All you had to do was forward letters, sometimes with cash or a recipe included, to a list of recipients and you would be significantly rewarded. The recipe chains often worked; the cash chains always seemed to break down somewhere along the line. What was appealing about both was the opportunity to get something with little effort and to connect with other people from near and far.

As we know, many among us have little to be merry about. Charles Dickens long ago gave us a poignant and memorable look at the less fortunate during the holidays with A Christmas Carol, his heart-wrenching tale from the mid-19th century of the overworked and underpaid, those who had little but could still find joy in their friendships and family.

Nonpartisan, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, means “not partisan, especially: free from party affiliation, bias, or designation.” Disinterested, dispassionate, equitable, impartial and indifferent are a few of the suggested synonyms. Leading Ladies was founded with the promise that we would be nonpartisan by not endorsing any candidate or political party. We would take a stance on issues, however, and those positions might sometimes, and even often, ally with particular candidates, and even one party, more than another.

We (Therese and Judy) went out to dinner last Wednesday night. Our fashionably late reservations were for 8 pm so we left the North Shore at 7, heading to the Merrimack Valley. As we pulled into our dinner venue, the last bus pulled out of the terminal on Common Street in Lawrence. Why is this relevant? Because our dinner destination was the Buckley Transportation Center where folding tables are set up family style every Wednesday in the bus parking spaces to provide a warm meal and more for the homeless population of Lawrence.

I’ve reached the age when young people sometimes offer me their seats on the subway in New York City. I take it, knowing I could stand, if necessary. Is that cheating?

Some people think affirmative action is cheating. They say it’s giving seats to people who don’t deserve it.

We write about human rights every week and suggest actions we can all take, so we didn’t expect to be surprised by what might be said at last week’s Community Conversation at The Cabot about “Making Our Community Safe for Transgender Youth.”

As I was sitting in my doctor’s office at Lahey in Danvers two days ago, finishing up a discussion about the state of my thyroid gland, she and I paused to listen to an announcement on the PA system. “There is an external situation. Everyone is advised to shelter in place. No one should leave the building until clearance is given.”

Recent conversations with friends have made it clear that many of us don’t fully understand the difference between Plan B and Plan C in pregnancy management. With the overturning of Roe v Wade and the more recent ban on medication abortion pills…

Recently, we’ve been grappling with some of the finer points of being an ally to the marginalized among us. The new book, “Say the Right Thing,” by Kenzie Yoshino and David Glasgow, NYU law professors and founders of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, offers us reminders about the importance of standing up when we hear and see things; of what not to say because it may sound hollow, patronizing, or have the exact opposite of the intended effect; how to engage in respectful disagreement; and more.

We’ve talked a lot about the need for systemic, macro solutions to the problem of poverty in our country and the homelessness, food insecurity, education and health inequities that come with it. Until the causes are dealt with, the problems will continue.

An ad pops up between my turns on Words with Friends. It is a quiz about food insecurity. I search for the icon which will let me skip the ad and get back to my game.

Leading Ladies refrains from endorsing particular candidates, but we do clearly support certain causes and positions. Indeed, our mission expresses our commitment to equal access for all to education, health care (including a woman’s right to choose), housing, food, jobs, and political representation, regardless of one’s ethnicity, race, religion, or sexual identity. We are also committed to common sense gun laws, humane immigration policies, and the sustainability of our planet.

“It seems preposterous that we would omit, as players, those who have the most energy, the most long-term interests, and potentially the best ideas, to change what is happening in the world, and the people within,” said Dr. Andre Morgan, Director of Opportunity, Access and Equity for Beverly Public Schools at our Students as Changemakers event last week at The Cabot. “In a time when students are seeking careers with impact, and employers are seeking graduates with core skills of problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork, it is important to consider how schools and communities, can equip every student with the changemaking skills, to tackle complex social issues, and future challenges that are not yet imagined,” he emphasized.

We are not living in a democracy,” reproductive rights activist and women’s study professor Carrie Baker declared at the end of the Leading Ladies “Life After Roe v. Wade” Zoom event last Wednesday. “If you were ever going to get out and vote, this is the time,” she emphasized. Her strong statements capped an hour-and-a-half of some terrifying but elucidating information shared by Baker and the other panelists.

Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.

How are you planning to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month? If you are a white American, you probably have not given it much thought. Yet, just as Black History Month has raised the consciousness and understanding of those who are not part of the African American community, so does AAPI Month offer an opportunity to grow in appreciation and respect for the multiculturalism that defines our country.

It’s only the middle of spring, but not too early to be concerned about the midterm elections in November. We’ve written before about the importance of voting in our local elections for mayors and city council members, as well as school board members and state legislators, because those elected officials determine significant policies that affect our families and our everyday lives.

Since the inception of Leading Ladies, humane immigration policies have been among our priorities. Because of a zero tolerance policy during the last presidential administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents at our southern border. Hundreds have since been reunited, but far from all.

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman was suspended two weeks ago as chair of the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, asked to resign as the executive director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and fired as psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

A recent trip to Berlin included a historical tour of the city. Since Germany has an impressive and extensive record of reckoning with its past, the tour not surprisingly covered the underground memorial to the 1933 book burning in Bebelplatz, a beautiful and notable center of cultural activity. On May 10, 1933, members of the Nazi German Student Union organized burnings throughout the country of important works of world literature they deemed dangerous. Works by Thomas Mann, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweig, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, and Kurt Tucholsky were among those destroyed in Berlin. Many of the authors were Jewish, and for that reason alone, their books were considered unworthy. In fact, Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels pronounced that day in Bebelplatz that “the era of extreme Jewish intellectualism is now at an end.”