If the country thought that it was getting a buttoned-up, by-the-books communicator after four wildly undisciplined years of Donald Trump, it knew nothing about Joseph R. Biden’s long career as Washington’s standout long-winded, seat-of-the-pants, poorly informed, and misleading talker.

At this writing, the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive counts 17 mass shootings — 74 wounded, 13 killed — just since Uvalde. In America, trauma is now routine and tragedy everyday, and so they will remain until voters — the ultimate arbiters in what is still, albeit barely, a democracy — finally demand better.

Each time one of these evil acts occurs, we hear from politicians that we can’t go on like this. OK, then tell us how to stop it. Laws alone have not succeeded. Again, examining prospective purchasers more closely might help, along with waiting periods and more rigorous background checks.

Despite numerous racist restrictions on their enlistment, more than 1 million Black GIs served during World War II. “Jim Crow in uniform,” however, tormented them constantly.

It is the film’s willingness to address the characters’ struggles in a relatable way that keeps “Best Years” modern. Cartoonist and war correspondent Bill Mauldin may have put it best in a letter he wrote to Goldwyn praising the film as “the first honest-to-God sincere thing I’ve seen about the war and its aftermath.”

When markets are booming, people who take unwise risks can still do OK. When conditions go south, those who invested or borrowed recklessly often find themselves exposed to financial trouble.

Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had provoked Donald Trump’s ire by refusing to indulge his delusions about the 2020 election or engage in any legally dubious maneuvers to change the result in Georgia, and they had felt the full fury of the White House and Mar-a-Lago.

You think it’s hard asking a man to be the last to die for what you know is wrong? Try asking a child.

For Memorial Day 2022 I find myself thinking about those 13 Americans who died in the 2021 Biden administration Afghanistan debacle. I honor their service and sacrifice.

Somewhere between isolationism and intervention there must be a middle ground. Finding it is up to our leaders. Where are those leaders, and what is our foreign policy? Those questions had better be answered quickly, or the consequences from delay could be severe.