Cultute Change
Fission or Fusion
I’ve always believed we have a lot to learn from physics, biology and math. Our individual and organizational behaviors often mimic the natural sciences. Humans have only been around for a couple of hundred thousand of years, but the laws of physics have been operating for 14 billion years. Perhaps we should learn from the natural laws that brought us to this place. Fusion and fission are a good place to start. Fusion occurs when Read More
Civility
“So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” —John F. Kennedy “The whole country wants civility. Why don’t we have it? It doesn’t cost anything. No federal funding, no legislation Read More
Attribution of Variance
One of my favorite courses in graduate school was research evaluation which involved the analysis of study designs.
It was fascinating to me to figure out how to determine the impact of independent variables on dependent variables and how to factor out how each potential cause created a specific effect.
Xenophobia
“Whether it is tribalism, racism, xenophobia, or anti-Muslim backlash we’re talking about, we spend so much time and energy fighting ways to divide ourselves from others.” —Loretta Lynch I recently learned that my great grandfather, William, was a large landowner in Michigan and took part in the Gold Rush in the 19th century. William originally came from England in 1835 with 50 cents in his pocket. He somehow managed to make his way to California Read More
Zeitgeist
“Everything we say signifies; everything counts that we put out into the world. It impacts our kids, it impacts on the zeitgeist of the time.” —Meryl Streep “Even a genius cannot completely resist his Zeitgeist, the spirit of his time.” —Victor Frankl On an individual level, it’s hard to keep my spirits up these days. People are dying. The economy is in shambles. Restaurants and bars are closed. Lives and livelihoods are being destroyed. This Read More
Yearning
“People across the world are yearning to be connected to stories of hope.” —Jacqueline Novogratz In 1968, what helped me get through my year in Vietnam was a pen-pal who had agreed, on the suggestion of her boyfriend, to write to me. After all, he said, you will be in Paris while Rick is in Saigon – you two should write. She met me in LA when I returned from Vietnam. We were engaged four Read More
Just A Little Justice
John died this week sitting on a bench in front of our condo building. He was an ubiquitous presence in the neighborhood for many years. John was a 72 year old homeless man with Tourette Syndrome. He walked around the neighborhood all day pushing a cart with all his belongings which he kept meticulously organized. John managed his homelessness with as much dignity as he possibly could. He had a variety of sleeping spots he Read More
Questioning Orthodoxy
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen I just watched three new movies: Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig, A Hidden Life, directed by Terrence Malick, and Two Popes, directed by Fernando Meirelles. All three spoke to the importance of questioning orthodoxy in different times and different places. Little Women was set in the mid-19th century in New England. It’s a wonderful, big-hearted movie that pays homage to Read More
Demonize Digitize or Democratize
In this post, I’m going to discuss how demonization and digitization can undermine democracy and what we need to do to restore democracy in the world. I know…two pretty big challenges for a short post, but here’s my best shot. When I went through Army Basic Training during the Vietnam War, many of the exercises were designed to demonize the Vietnamese people. When we stabbed our bayonets into dummies, we were instructed to yell, “Kill Read More
Language and Loss
Every year I like to look at the New York Times best books of the year and select a few that I want to read. This year I chose Lost Children Archives by Valeria Luisilli, The Topeka School by Ben Lerner, Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, and The Yellow House by Sarah Broom. Coincidentally they all deal with language and loss in one way or another. Lost Children Archives discusses the language of silence and Read More
Noticing Normalization
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I try to stick with timeless themes vs. timely traumas. For example, I studiously avoid using the “T” word. In the last five years of posting, I have only slipped into the political muck a few times. While this post still remains true to timeless, generic, and universal principles, I apologize in advance for letting my toe slip into those seductive, but poisonous, Read More
We the Trees and Water
I recently read We the Corporations, a new book by Adam Winkler on how American businesses won their civil rights. In this meticulously well-documented history, Winkler puts corporate power on center stage. He charts how corporations systematically and incrementally gained political advantages over a 200 year period culminating in Citizens United which was funded by corporate elites to bend the law in their favor. Winkler methodically points out that America has been pro-corporate and elitist Read More