Dichotomies R Us
Life was so much simpler back when that divide between “Us” and “Them” was obvious, easy. In my early years, I was among “the saved” while the rest of the world were, quite literally, “going to hell.” How surprised I … Read More
A Final Musing: Violence of a Work Ethic
A few months ago, I came across this quote from Thomas Merton: On Violence There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are … Read More
My Annual Christmas Eve Post for 2020
Many of my friends here in Vermont see winter as a time to pull out the skis, the sleds, the toboggans and hit the hills. Not me. Over the past few decades, I’ve come to see winter as a time … Read More
GIVING TUESDAY is coming
You know the Statue of Liberty. You know its story. You know how it stands at the mouth of the Hudson River, a beacon to immigrants for over a century. I’ve climbed her stairs a few times over the years … Read More
Treating Racism Like CoVid-19: Step Four
Subtitle: While introducing you to the new man in our life. Remember this poster? Under the BLACK LIVES MATTER headline, it reads, TREAT RACISM LIKE COVID-19 and she gives us four steps to do this. So, far, I’ve gotten three … Read More
Patriotism Revisited
I have a batch of draft posts on my WordPress site — thoughts I’ve jotted down over the years, ideas that percolated for a time, then went flat. And every now and then (like today) I look them over, delete … Read More
My Second C: Compassion
We continue today with my mini series on the three words that have woven themselves into much of my work of late: Curiosity, Compassion, and Courage. Today it’s COMPASSION’s turn. Merriam-Webster defines this noun as the “sympathetic consciousness of others’ … Read More
Examining American Scapegoating
This is George Floyd’s face. Most of us know of him from the viral video of his death under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis policeman. Or from the news media coverage this past week. Or from social … Read More
Keeping the coronavirus in the BAG
Another acronym has found me. They do that alot, from my use of CD (first for Cultural Differences, then for Civil Discourse) to my three Cs — curiosity, compassion, and courage — and to my new book LEAPFROG (How to … Read More