David Cook - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Opinion: The Pursuit of Happiness and the reasons why two men will become homeless

by David Cook ·February 5, 2022

Walking. Pedaling bikes. In sagging cars with backseats packed and stuffed with clothes, cans of food, anything, everything.

Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / The homeless encampment along E. 11th Street on Monday, December 6, 2021.

Opinion: The life of an apostle of peace

by David Cook ·January 29, 2022

I first met Thich Nhat Hahn some 20 years ago; someone gave me a book of his. I'd never read anything like it before.

Staff file photo / Yong Oh, left, and Janka Livoncova lead a meditation class at Clearspring Yoga on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Meditation is an important activity in Buddhism that helps to promote behaviors that are central to its teachings.

Opinion: Peace-shalom-salam and hate in the auto parts store

by David Cook ·January 22, 2022

Not long ago, my good friend goes into the auto parts store, looking for a new catalytic converter, when this guy walks in. White. Twenty-something. Shaky, with an unstable energy that says to the world: danger.

Opinion: 5,872 reasons why we truly do need each other

by David Cook ·January 15, 2022

Perhaps we're wrong.

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Chattanooga's skyline is seen over the ridge on Moccasin Bend, in this photo made from Lookout Mountain on November 16, 2021.

Opinion: Let us serve MLK by remaining maladjusted

by David Cook ·January 8, 2022

Twelve months ago, a group of 200 of us began a sort of liturgical and social experiment: We spent a year reading Martin Luther King Jr.

Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Marchers walk past the AT&T building on M.L. King Boulevard during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The march was held in conjunction with a variety of other Martin Luther King Jr. Day events held throughout the day.

Opinion: Questions for 2022 and two big moments from 2021

by David Cook ·January 1, 2022

Is this the year our Confederate statue finally comes down?

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Mary Lambert, director of community health for the city of Chattanooga, sets up a sign that reads "Free COVID Vaccinations No Appointment Required" at the corner of Moss drive just outside Eastdale Community Center on July 14.

Opinion: A Christmas gift to get the potty started

by David Cook ·December 18, 2021

Need a unique Christmas gift?

Arnold Cohen poses for a photo with his line of bidets, starting on the left with the original model Aug. 26, 2007, at his Weston, Fla. showroom/warehouse. Cohen held the patent on for the "American Bidet" since the early 1960s. /AP photo by J. Pat Carter

Opinion: How do we view the American womb and female body?

by David Cook ·December 11, 2021

When my wife was pregnant with our two children I felt many things: elation, trepidation, awe.

A man wears a sign on his back that reads "Unborn Lives Matter" as he and other anti-abortion protesters wearing doctors uniforms demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington, as the court hears arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Cook: Was this the best Thanksgiving ever?

by David Cook ·November 27, 2021

Let's look back at Thursday.

Staff file photo / Troy Rogers, left, and Tony Oliver pass out bagged lunches on the Westside on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Opinion: Who gets to carry guns in America? And who doesn’t?

by David Cook ·November 20, 2021

He was 17. A child, essentially.