John Hubbuch

On April 15, an explosion in Boston, Mass., killed three people. On April 17, an explosion in West, Texas killed 14 people. Both events were tragic and unexpected. The friends and families of all 17 victims were shocked and will be scarred for the rest of their lives.

I believe that the best we can hope for is that things will get worse slowly. I guess that makes me a pessimist. Like a fancy craft beer, my pessimism is tinged with cynicism and skepticism.

I must admit I wasn't very interested in the local elections. Having lived here since 1976, I have voted in and observed a lot of these celebrations of participatory democracy. This election was typical — low turnout, a number of uncontested contests and a couple of contests that "will shape the future of the villages."

At first impression it is hard to imagine a more different place than Downton Abbey in Yorkshire England compared to Oak Park, Illinois. In England before WWI ,women can't vote. The landed gentry is fighting desperately to hold on to a rigid class structure that has been in place for hundreds of years.