The Problem with Historical Context
Historical context is an important starting point for understanding the past. But if we are to understand the present, it cannot also be the endpoint.
Hammer Thinking
Intolerance vs Intolerance
I would enthusiastically support ‘Story Time by the LGBT+ Community.’ I do not support ‘Drag Queen Story Time.’ My concern is one of intolerance vs intolerance.
Liberal and Conservative, Left and Right
In popular usage, ‘left’ and ‘right’ have come to mean the same thing as ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative,’ respectively. This is a critical mistake.
Fear Mongers, Anger Mongers
Conservatives were delighted to see Obama go. Well, most conservatives. There were some hard-to-the-right conservatives who probably wept when he left.
The gun manufacturers…
How to Fix Congress
Before we can fix government, we need to fix Congress. The problem in Congress is minority rule, but the privacy of the ballot box could restore political moderation.
Ridiculing Neo-Nazis
Ridiculing neo-Nazis and other extremists is a powerful tool, but one that can also backfire badly. It is imperative that we offer carrots with the sticks.
The Ideal & Romanticism
How many of the Romanticists ever visited the peasants in winter? Did any of them bother to pass by their frozen shacks when there was not enough food, fuel, clothes or warmth? In its focus on the ideal, how much disease, starvation, and death did Romanticism miss, in the nature all around them, and in the homes of their poor neighbors? The Romantics are like all of us: we only see what we wish to see…
Us vs Them
‘Us vs Them’ is pretty simple, from a strategic standpoint. When we decide that another person is similar to us, it means we are looking for cooperation, for peace. And when we decide that someone is different, we are looking for conflict and competition and ultimately, war.
Critical Thinking as a Teachable Skill
The world is changing rapidly – politically, socially, technologically – and we have repeatedly considered here how we are ill-equipped to deal with it. One of the major problems blocking progress is one of authority vs critical thinking. All of us, professionals included, often defer to authority without critically thinking about the complexities of a … [Read more…]
The Gus Levy Syndrome
We are at a particularly contentious point in American politics. In all of it, there is a lot of finger-pointing. We blame the party bosses, the media, big money, lobbyists, extremists, and our own elected officials. Oh, and partisan politics: the worst bastards that every walked the Earth are our beloved fellow American sitting across … [Read more…]