(1 comments) SHARE        Monday, January 3, 2022
It's Tough to be for Everyone The need to balance opposing ideals remains difficult to satisfy, and rising above opposition is even harder. But this is the challenge people of today must grapple with, if we are to stop fighting each other long enough to deal with the problems of the world. Our top leaders face a greater challenge still, if they accept the mandate to be for everyone in their care. But this is their job! .

(3 comments) SHARE        Sunday, January 2, 2022
Two Legs to Walk, Two Wings to Fly It is not enough to choose sides, because we need to pick up both sides of the coin to use it. We must learn to choose both sides in important arguments, to consider and thereby serve the needs of all, to assure mankind's survival. All of humanity is at risk, unless we balance opposing forces within society and bridge the gap with more understanding of the opposition's view. This requires compassion as well as determination

(1 comments) SHARE        Friday, December 24, 2021
Two Great Civilizing Forces The forces civilizing human beings remain the same since the dawn of time. The secret to being civilized, both for individuals and culture, is to achieve a balance of views that appear to be opposing but contain seeds of the same concerns in a synthesis or pediment of virtue, which incorporates the best of both worldviews. Reconciling opposing views, by seeing the value in each viewpoint, is essential to creating the good.

(6 comments) SHARE        Sunday, November 21, 2021
Why Bill Shatner had to go to Space When William Shatner rode into space on a Blue Origin rocket, there was a fair amount of complaining from folks who thought the resources could have been used to help heal planet Earth instead. Such complaints embody wishful thinking, however, because they seek to curtail progress that could save us from the worst effects of climate change and offer alternatives to the older technologies that have put us so much at risk.

(8 comments) SHARE        Saturday, September 7, 2019
Cornered Animals Society's attempts to put people in a corner have created a toxic atmosphere in America today. We must learn to balance opposing qualities, and thus be virtuous, rather than being forced to choose between half-answers that don't work.

(21 comments) SHARE        Wednesday, August 28, 2019
We must change how we talk about Climate issues to create the climate for a Green New Deal The appeal for a Green New Deal in America is timely, because we face dangers created by climate change in increasing measure, but the rhetoric politicians use in framing Climate issues is divisive. To have a hope of dealing with the many complex problems arising from changing climates, we must strive to make appeals and solutions as inclusive as possible, because failing to do so will hurt everyone.

(2 comments) SHARE        Friday, January 9, 2015
Managing Progress Intelligently and Playfully The Progressive movement was an outgrowth of efforts to better manage progress, in order to foster the common good. Today as then, the dominance of big business concerns driving material progress must be tempered by intelligent ideals. This is the only way progress can be made sustainable.

(3 comments) SHARE        Friday, October 14, 2011
Occupy With Purpose For the Occupy Wall Street movement to be a catalyst for positive change, there must be a clear and coherent message that emerges from the protests. That message must be more than just a complaint or an expression of anger too. I offer some ideas that might help people looking for the right message to send.

(14 comments) SHARE        Sunday, September 11, 2011
Make Progress Now! We can create a better future, but only if we make progress now, toward that goal. Progress is how we can have a robust economy both in our native land and abroad. Progress is the road to a brighter future for individuals, organizations, corporations, nations, and the world. But to make a brighter future real we must begin to create it now, or we may miss our chance.

(1 comments) SHARE        Friday, August 19, 2011
Innovation and Progress What we need most to save the planet and what we need greatest to boost the economy is one thing, innovation! Innovation fosters progress, and tends to improve conditions over time. We must actively encourage innovation, which alone can foster real progress, if we want to get things moving in the right direction.

(16 comments) SHARE        Wednesday, August 17, 2011
We Need Better Solutions While our leaders quarrel with each other, important problems are left unaddressed. We need better solutions to the pressing problems of our day, but instead we are losing the edge we once had, especially in Science and Technology. Unless we seek better solutions, and learn to think for ourselves, the human race may not survive.

(10 comments) SHARE        Sunday, August 7, 2011
The Middle Must Rise There is a tendency for people to over-simplify complex situations, and a tendency for society to offer us either/or choices which are artificial at best. We must learn to emphasize the middle ground, and to assert that the issues are not defined only by the opposing positions of extremist voices. Too often, those in the middle are not heard at all, though sometimes they are the only ones with sensible answers.

(2 comments) SHARE        Saturday, July 30, 2011
Shades of Gray Going Away We have been slowly losing the shades of gray in life, both in the content we receive, and in our ability to cognize and process it. Studies begun in the late 60s in Tübingen show that modern people distinguish far fewer shades of gray or green, and recognize fewer sounds than folks from 15 or 20 years ago. We need to be mindful lest we lose even more of life's detail and subtlety.

(30 comments) SHARE        Monday, July 19, 2010
Fundamental Physics may be Our Best Hope This article talks about my experiences at the 11th Frontiers of Fundamental Physics conference in Paris, July 6-9. Some of the world's top physicists were there, as well as a variety of other fine scholars - who made the event extremely fulfilling for me. It left me with a feeling of encouragement about what is possible when great minds work together.

(8 comments) SHARE        Sunday, June 20, 2010
What Do Adults Do? An adult puts out the fire on their stove, or calls the fire department if things get out of hand, then tries to find out who left the frying pan unattended. Too often; our leaders try to fix blame first then problems. Unfortunately; this is an adolescent response, and we all need to be more adult to face today's problems.

(13 comments) SHARE        Saturday, June 12, 2010
Rising above "us against them' thinking The prevailing state of affairs, these days, appears to be 'us against them' vs 'us against them.' We have to grow out of such adolescent tendencies in order to grapple with the problems we face realistically. Only if we rise above this mindset can humanity hope to survive.

(22 comments) SHARE        Friday, May 21, 2010
Black Swans Demand Respect: How false determinism doomed the Gulf of Mexico Although people still cling to a deterministic view of the world, the rationale for that view is unraveling. Moreover; the consequences of our continuing to use false determinism as a guide are becoming more catastrophic. I hope we can learn a better way in time.

(6 comments) SHARE        Thursday, May 20, 2010
Beyond False Predictions - We Need to Fix the Math, for the Economy to Get Well This article explains that one of the primary causes of the financial crisis has been overlooked in the mainstream media. To really fix the economy, we need to fix the Math first. Although casting blame has been virtually the only way we have tried to address the problem, the real issue is not greed, but ignorance and embarrassment.