Die Meistersinger

A scene from the great opera by Richard Wagner set in 16th century Nuremberg which is the inspiration for an essay on the summer solstice, American liberty, and our presidential and congressional election of 2020.

By Jim Lowe

ON FRIDAY, JUNE 21, we entered the Summer of 2019. That leaves just one year until a tornado of roaring political rhetoric will surround us, completely inescapable if one so much as turns on a radio, television set, or Internet connection.

One would wisely pause this month to consider the depth of what's at stake during the coming year, and at the culmination of its frenzy on Nov. 3, 2020.