Racism: Charlottesville
Racism is as old as humanity. But the word, and the concept, are quite recent.
Tolerance
New Parents
How an ER doctor became a primary care doctor, and developed a talk for new parents.
America in One Word
How can we sum up all of America in One Word? It’s a challenge, but an important exercise. Needless to say, in a democracy, there are many different responses.
From Ailes to Trump
The problem with anger-mongering is that it doesn’t stop without catastrophe. Roger Ailes got the boilers going, but Donald Trump hijacked the train.
War on Women, War on Children
The hard right has been waging a War on Women, and their freedoms. It appears they are also waging a War on Children, and their intellectual freedoms.
The Majority Illusion
The concept of majority rule is essential for democracy. The problem is, what we think is a majority is really a majority illusion.
Zero Tolerance for Education
Zero tolerance for rule-breaking, is zero tolerance for challenging the status quo.
Which is inseparable from intolerance for learning altogether.
Mental Dictators
Hitler wanted a master race, of ideal men and women, all of them strong, handsome, virtuous. He also wanted them to have ideal intellects, which is a problem. He wanted them to think, and to think his way. But if everyone thinks the same way…
…who’s thinking?
Are Colleges Too Liberal?
Some years back, conservative columnist George F. Will argued that colleges are too liberal.
If liberalism means the freedom to consider new ideas, what else would we expect?
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…]