“A House Divided”: It’s Time to Heed Lincoln’s Warning

There is a deep political division in this country today that is more threatening than at any time since the Civil War.


The Social Contract: Who Needs It?

Let’s begin with some political theory. Aristotle, in his great treatise, the Politics, concluded that there are, basically, only two different kinds of governments in terms of the outcomes for a society — those that serve the common good, or the public interest, and those that have been co-opted to serve the self-interests of the people who hold political power. 


Emerge America - Getting Women to Run for Office

Women in politics? Let’s face it the statistics are horrific. To name a few, only 37 women have ever served as Governor across the United States. Almost five times as many men hold elected office in the United States than women. The United States currently ranks 95th in the world in the number of women serving in their national legislatures. We are behind Mexico, China and Pakistan.  In 2002 Andrea Dew Steele who is active in the Democratic Party was aroused by the incredible lack of women holding elected office at the local level in San Francisco and founded Emerge American. Today 22 other states use the program.From Colorado Emerge America - Getting Women to Run for Office

 

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Kalamazoo Public Library

The key to understanding people begins with education. One way to learn about the world is by developing a love of books. Each month, we will profile a library that one of our whisperers told us about. Do you have a library that you love? Tell us about it. 


Wali Collins Comedy Cup Breaks New Ground

An audience doesn’t have to travel to ancient Rome to see gladiators battle to the death. Today’s fiercest warriors happen to be New York City’s finest comedians.  Now a regular show at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, Wali Collins’ Comedy Cup has turned into a real sensation! And who is this Wali Collins dude? 


The Iranian “Spring”: Will We Ever Learn?

The Iranian “Spring”:  Will We Ever Learn? Once again, we are witnessing the ancient truth (going back to Plato).  It seems that humankind is doomed endlessly to re-live an age-old story and then promptly forget it.  The root cause of the Arab Spring was desperation, coupled with a failure of leadership.  Iran represents only a variation on this common theme.Every organized society is, in effect, a “collective survival enterprise.”  Our basic needs lie at the heart of our implicit social contract. Any regime that does not understand this biologically-based “common good” and act accordingly is ultimately doomed.    

 

Ethics in the Garden of Evolution

Evolution and ethics may seem to be incompatible, perhaps even an oxymoron.  Isn’t natural selection all about individual competition and winner take all?  Logically, the end should justify the means, ethically speaking.   As I noted in a previous blog item on the “Survival of the Fittest,” this model is totally deficient.  Complex human societies have evolved as a cooperative enterprise, a “superorganism”, and our relationships with one another are highly relevant to the well-being of both the individual members and the whole.    


The Heart That Will Never Stop

A few summers ago, my daughter Sarah was bound for Denver. Sarah had committed to serve in the AmeriCorps’ City Year program. Before she left, I helped to pack up her car. She had a few meager belongings, mostly clothes and books. She had sold off almost everything else she had owned.  She was off to more than a grand adventure; this journey was meant to jumpstart her career as an educator. Moments before she left, I took a photo of her at Kerry Park, overlooking the city of Seattle. In the photo she is holding her City Year badge and beaming with pride.  She wanted to know if her passion for teaching was a passing fancy or her true heart’s desire. Soon she would find out.