I lament the loss of civil discourse, though I fear at times I am involved in its painful demise. As I write this week about politics, I am struck by my longing for the language of protests of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Hell, I am hungry for something that approaches a good argument. To…
Aristotle coined the term political animal – politikon zoon – in his work Politics in which he puts forth his belief that citizens must actively participate in politics if we are to be happy. To Aristotle, we are creatures intended to live in community. He understood us to be social animals. Aristotle reasoned that humans…
One of the by-products of having been raised poor and later working class is my ongoing challenge stating what is politic. I am often in the position of saying what is deemed unwise, not judicious, or imprudent. For many more years than I care to estimate, I have been cautioned, marginalized, and – at times…
Col. Chris Austin Hadfield, a retired Canadian astronaut, is perhaps best known for his cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity from outer space. Born in 1959, Hadfield recalls his early dream of space travel beginning at about age 7 during a TED talk he recorded in 2014. After his dream became reality, he has been remarkable…
Most semesters I get at least one student paper that questions, “Who am I to interfere (ask a question, interrupt, intercede, protest, and so on)?” For fear of being “inappropriate,” these young adults take the role of bystander in the situations they describe. I suspect that aspects of these reactions to life events are developmental;…
Around the time that Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, there was quite a bit of talk about so-called “stand-your-ground” laws. Those laws, along with so-called “Castle” laws have contributed to the killing of scores of young people over property violations, poor judgement, and long-standing ill will toward anyone who is…
In response to my friend James’ recent post on Facebook about yet another unarmed black teen being killed by a home owner, I commented that while I am sure no one wants a burglary in their home, I own nothing that is worth a human life. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I have some nice…
When I was a little boy, I heard a recording of the story of Peter Rabbit and the terrible Mr. McGregor who was determined to rid his garden of rabbits, even if it meant killing the little terrified hero of the story. After being chased round and round, Peter escapes the clutches of the villain,…
This week I have been writing about wanting, the stuff of desire, demand, and longing. As I have been thinking about what I want, about what we want, I have observed that many of us show our disappointment when we get what we get instead of what we want. We also show our discouragement about…
In the mid-1980s, during an experiential therapy workshop, I participated in an activity in which I was assigned the task of doing whatever it took (short of outright violence) to get out of a doorway being blocked by six strong men. Several times during the struggle which lasted well over an hour, I paused to…
Creating Community for Everyone 