Blog Posts — Page 17

I recently listened to an excellent podcast by Ezra Klein on the withdrawal from Afghanistan.  He discusses with Robert Wright, the author of Nonzero – a newsletter that examines the assumptions that drive America’s foreign policy – our policy failures in Afghanistan over the past 20 years after an investment of 2 trillion dollars and deaths of over 200,000 people.  Their discussion delves into the deep history of American involvement in Afghanistan, reveals the unacknowledged Read More

My small, hometown community recently sponsored an event called “What Unites Us.”  The event started with free sundaes in the park and concluded with a drum dance on the beach.  People in the community made signs indicating what they believed unified us, and we used those signs to make a pathway from the park to the beach.  Drums (green buckets) and drumsticks were placed in a circle with hula hoops in the middle.  Everyone was Read More

In our little town in Northern Michigan, a neighbor put up a sign that read “NO WOKE ZONE”  (code for “I hate liberal, establishment elites’).  At first, I thought it said “NO WORK ZONE,” but the message is the same in either case – “I am willfully ignorant and refuse to do the work to find the truth.”  Yes, being woke can go too far, but to me, it simply means “I’m open to uncomfortable Read More

In this post, I’m going to address the question of how to persuade someone with power to make a sacrifice for the common good.  It seems to me that this is one of the most intractable problems in history.  For thousands of years, people with power have been more likely to impose their will on others than to shift positions through persuasion.  Let’s start with some provocative voices on power and persuasion.  “When the whole Read More

I know about running for cover.  When I heard bullets whistling over my head on guard duty in Vietnam, my instincts kicked in. I ducked down into my sandbag bunker for safety and protection.  To be clear, I was defending an apartment building with high walls in Saigon – not hacking through the dense jungle exposed to sniper attacks, venomous snakes and nasty traps.  Still, I experienced the natural instinct to shrink down and protect Read More

I’m reeling from violence I’m kneeling in silence I’m healing my damaged soul I’ve been reeling from a sense of loss I’ve seen kneeling for the Southern cross So many are healing from a toxic boss I’ve been thrown off balance from low blows I’ve seen submission before turned up noses We all need healing from hate and hoses I’ve staggered badly from drunken days I’ve seen kneeling to maleficent ways I’ve known healing from Read More

In 1984, my wife, my first daughter, and I drove to JFK Airport to pick up our second daughter – Jang Hee JInn – fresh off a flight from Seoul Korea.   She was a 3 month old bundle of wonder.  I dropped the camera in my eagerness to welcome this new child from the Korean caretaker who had nurtured her lovingly for the long flight.  We named her Emily Jane.  I’m writing this post to Read More