The ongoing problems with the Supreme Court can be largely mitigated with a combination of two ideas: one that is long overdue for every political position, whether elected or appointed; and one that is largely seen as more radical, but is necessary in this case. The first idea is that the Justices must have term … Continue reading Fixing the Supreme Court
Category: Political Thoughts
Changing Our Stories
Listening to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell on Audible, he articulated something I’ve been thinking about recently: “We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem,” Gladwell said. “We’re a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don’t really have an explanation for.” This is obviously problematic for a lot of reasons, because … Continue reading Changing Our Stories
Take Pride in Your Taxes
The adversarial relationship we have with taxes in America holds us back as a society. Taxes fund local roads and interstates, parks and nature preserves, running water and reliable electricity, effective sewers and sanitation, police and fire services, Social Security and Medicaid, the military, education, and countless other essential services and infrastructure. Taxes keep us … Continue reading Take Pride in Your Taxes
Divide and Fall
I’ve never understood the tendency for cultures, nations, and religions to systematically demean, exclude, marginalize, and otherize targeted groups within their own spheres. No doubt it is an extension of our human need to hate in order to get things done. And to some extent, I can understand leveraging that unfortunate tendency to unite your … Continue reading Divide and Fall
The World Is More Than Your Experiences
It seems that it’s far too easy for people to fall into thinking that their experiences and the way they look at life because of them are universal. (Thinking that they should be universal is a whole other fallacy that I may have to speak to at another time.) This is a view that inevitably … Continue reading The World Is More Than Your Experiences
Hate and Fear and Anger
The recent passing of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 brought with it the inevitable lamentations for our loss of the national unity that welled up in the aftermath of that tragic day. I saw several variations on the idea of "I wish we had the America of September 12th" ... Instead, presumably, of the bitter … Continue reading Hate and Fear and Anger
Heath Fogelman, author 