Earnest

What do Pope Leo XIV, the movie Sheep Detectives and a 15 year-old boy in Vermont who started Luke’s Military Museum in a trailer have in common?

Within the last week, all have been described as earnest.

There are several definitions of the word, but the meaning applied in each of these cases was “sincerity with seriousness or purpose.”

I hope seeing these seemingly unrelated examples is a signal that earnestness is becoming more in fashion as a trait we value.…