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583 Articles, 0 Quick Links, 781 Comments, 2 Diaries, 2 Series, 0 Polls
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Monday, February 2, 2015
How the Democrats Let America Down in the Shameful 2014 Elections In the 2014 elections, the American people handed still more power to a political party that, in the previous Congress, had betrayed the nation right out in the open, trampling on the norms and traditions of our Democracy. That should have been the main issue in the campaign. But the Democratic Party failed to press that issue, never bothered to call out that disgraceful behavior to help the American electorate see that truth.
Monday, February 2, 2015How the Democrats Let America Down in the Shameful 2014 Elections In the 2014 elections, the American people handed still more power to a political party that, in the previous Congress, had betrayed the nation right out in the open, trampling on the norms and traditions of our Democracy. That should have been the main issue in the campaign. But the Democratic Party failed to press that issue, never bothered to call out that disgraceful behavior to help the American electorate see that truth.
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Thursday, December 11, 2014
The Police Shootings: A New Chapter in an Old Story of Racial Oppression There is a long history of violence against black men being used to intimidate the whole race and, thereby, maintain white dominance. These recent shootings by police of unarmed black men looks like part of that history. Meanwhile, America's first black president seems himself to have been intimidated. In choosing his successor, our prime question should be: who will take on the party of the oppressor?
Thursday, December 11, 2014The Police Shootings: A New Chapter in an Old Story of Racial Oppression There is a long history of violence against black men being used to intimidate the whole race and, thereby, maintain white dominance. These recent shootings by police of unarmed black men looks like part of that history. Meanwhile, America's first black president seems himself to have been intimidated. In choosing his successor, our prime question should be: who will take on the party of the oppressor?
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Tea Partiers' Response to My Ferguson Piece Provides a Glimpse into the Darkness I wrote a piece saying that Missouri officials should have made it their top priority to conduct the Ferguson case in a way so as to minimize the chance of inflicting an unnecessary wound on their community and America: do everything possible to make everyone confident in the integrity of the process. Responses from Tea Partiers show something very disturbing that's a window into the dark force on the right.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014Tea Partiers' Response to My Ferguson Piece Provides a Glimpse into the Darkness I wrote a piece saying that Missouri officials should have made it their top priority to conduct the Ferguson case in a way so as to minimize the chance of inflicting an unnecessary wound on their community and America: do everything possible to make everyone confident in the integrity of the process. Responses from Tea Partiers show something very disturbing that's a window into the dark force on the right.
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Monday, November 24, 2014
Can America Be Saved # 5: Neither Side in America is Seeing an "Evil Force" for What it Is The people on each side of America's political divide are making a fundamental error at what might be called the level of the spirit. On the right, the error is mistaking one spiritual force for another. On the left, the error is failing to recognize the importance of such forces - not directly visible, but vast and powerful - in human affairs.
Monday, November 24, 2014Can America Be Saved # 5: Neither Side in America is Seeing an "Evil Force" for What it Is The people on each side of America's political divide are making a fundamental error at what might be called the level of the spirit. On the right, the error is mistaking one spiritual force for another. On the left, the error is failing to recognize the importance of such forces - not directly visible, but vast and powerful - in human affairs.
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Saturday, November 22, 2014
Can America Be Saved? # 4: The Two-Sided Dynamic of Our National Crisis The dynamic that is damaging our America, therefore, seems to have two main parts: 1)The Republican Party has become the instrument of a destructive force; 2)The response from Liberal America to this threat has been woefully weak. To drain the power of the right, and strengthen Liberal America, requires addressing the different "spiritual" errors the two sides make concerning "evil."
Saturday, November 22, 2014Can America Be Saved? # 4: The Two-Sided Dynamic of Our National Crisis The dynamic that is damaging our America, therefore, seems to have two main parts: 1)The Republican Party has become the instrument of a destructive force; 2)The response from Liberal America to this threat has been woefully weak. To drain the power of the right, and strengthen Liberal America, requires addressing the different "spiritual" errors the two sides make concerning "evil."
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Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Can America Be Saved? # 3 We Are Losing for Want of Seeing What's Winning The point needs to be stressed. The status quo is not leading us where we need to go. At the level that matters most, even our "victories" are not winning the battle. We are losing at the level where, fundamentally, this battle is being fought. That's at the level of the spirit.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014Can America Be Saved? # 3 We Are Losing for Want of Seeing What's Winning The point needs to be stressed. The status quo is not leading us where we need to go. At the level that matters most, even our "victories" are not winning the battle. We are losing at the level where, fundamentally, this battle is being fought. That's at the level of the spirit.
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Thursday, November 13, 2014
Can America Be Saved? Not If We're Blind to the One Force That Can Turn This Battle Around We won't be able to out-spend, or out-propagandize, or out-organize the forces of the right, or be more eager for conflict than their wounded minions. But what we do have we have that can turn this battle around is a moral and spiritual truth - a truth aligned with the deepest values and interests of America and one that can tap into the power of the spirit.
Thursday, November 13, 2014Can America Be Saved? Not If We're Blind to the One Force That Can Turn This Battle Around We won't be able to out-spend, or out-propagandize, or out-organize the forces of the right, or be more eager for conflict than their wounded minions. But what we do have we have that can turn this battle around is a moral and spiritual truth - a truth aligned with the deepest values and interests of America and one that can tap into the power of the spirit.
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Monday, November 10, 2014
How Did "Yes We Can!" Become "No We Couldn't"? Can America be saved? It is going to require a lot of people in Liberal America to expand their notion of the potential sources of power available to turn our current dangerous political dynamic around.
Monday, November 10, 2014How Did "Yes We Can!" Become "No We Couldn't"? Can America be saved? It is going to require a lot of people in Liberal America to expand their notion of the potential sources of power available to turn our current dangerous political dynamic around.
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Friday, November 7, 2014
The Democrats Should Come Out Swinging The Democrats lost not because they were wrong but because they were weak. Weak in their fighting. And weak in presenting a vision for America. This is not a time to become deferential because of the rebuke from the voters. It is a time to call out the Republicans when they violate our norms, and to inspire the people with a vision of a better America.
Friday, November 7, 2014The Democrats Should Come Out Swinging The Democrats lost not because they were wrong but because they were weak. Weak in their fighting. And weak in presenting a vision for America. This is not a time to become deferential because of the rebuke from the voters. It is a time to call out the Republicans when they violate our norms, and to inspire the people with a vision of a better America.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Shame on Us! (Giving Still More Power to Such a Party) Shame on us, the American people, for giving more power to a Party that has blatantly betrayed the nation. Shame on us, the Democratic Party, for being so blind and timid as to fail to make the election about that betrayal. Are we in the grassroots willing to step forward and do the job the Democratic leaders are failing to do? See the evil. Call it out. Press the battle. If not, shame on us.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014Shame on Us! (Giving Still More Power to Such a Party) Shame on us, the American people, for giving more power to a Party that has blatantly betrayed the nation. Shame on us, the Democratic Party, for being so blind and timid as to fail to make the election about that betrayal. Are we in the grassroots willing to step forward and do the job the Democratic leaders are failing to do? See the evil. Call it out. Press the battle. If not, shame on us.
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Monday, November 3, 2014
Why the Republican Party Loves the Abortion Issue Single-issue voters have fallen into a trap created and exploited by a savvy political force. The abortion issue is disconnected from the grab for money and power that's the true business of the GOP. So, by making that the defining issue of morality for a large class of voters, the GOP is freed to pursue large-scale immorality without fear of losing their support.
Monday, November 3, 2014Why the Republican Party Loves the Abortion Issue Single-issue voters have fallen into a trap created and exploited by a savvy political force. The abortion issue is disconnected from the grab for money and power that's the true business of the GOP. So, by making that the defining issue of morality for a large class of voters, the GOP is freed to pursue large-scale immorality without fear of losing their support.
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Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Right's Urge to Kick Down: Doing Unto Others as Has Been Done Unto You That template of the downward kick is so ingrained in the culture - at multiple levels, and especially in some parts of the culture - that even many who, in socio-economic terms, are in dominant positions have had profound -- but often unintegrated-- experiences of that kick-down pain. That helps to explain why even members of the elite, especially on the right, have the urge to deal with those on the bottom punitively.
Thursday, October 30, 2014The Right's Urge to Kick Down: Doing Unto Others as Has Been Done Unto You That template of the downward kick is so ingrained in the culture - at multiple levels, and especially in some parts of the culture - that even many who, in socio-economic terms, are in dominant positions have had profound -- but often unintegrated-- experiences of that kick-down pain. That helps to explain why even members of the elite, especially on the right, have the urge to deal with those on the bottom punitively.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2014
#10 Ideas That Can Make Liberal America Stronger: Value Is at the Heart of Our Humanity It's a mistake to believe that clear, intellectually responsible thinking proves that "values" are not real, are just "subjective," just matters of opinion. Such beliefs in Liberal America contribute to its weakness in this time of crisis. A real understanding of what we are and how we came to be shows "value" is real the only way it can be-- and is at the heart of our humanity.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014#10 Ideas That Can Make Liberal America Stronger: Value Is at the Heart of Our Humanity It's a mistake to believe that clear, intellectually responsible thinking proves that "values" are not real, are just "subjective," just matters of opinion. Such beliefs in Liberal America contribute to its weakness in this time of crisis. A real understanding of what we are and how we came to be shows "value" is real the only way it can be-- and is at the heart of our humanity.
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Monday, October 27, 2014
When Bad Politics Are Supported by Good People A recent wonderful visit with our Republican cousins underscored a stark contrast between the goodness of those people and the nature of the political force to which they give their support. So I wrote about that contrast in this piece published in several newspapers in my conservative Virginia congressional District.
Monday, October 27, 2014When Bad Politics Are Supported by Good People A recent wonderful visit with our Republican cousins underscored a stark contrast between the goodness of those people and the nature of the political force to which they give their support. So I wrote about that contrast in this piece published in several newspapers in my conservative Virginia congressional District.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014
More on the O'Reilly/Stewart Brouhaha: The Right-Wing Urge to Kick Down We can tell that many on the right feel a need to kick down on those below them, because they work to create a distorted picture to justify their rage and contempt. So what's the pay-off, and where did this urge come from?
Thursday, October 23, 2014More on the O'Reilly/Stewart Brouhaha: The Right-Wing Urge to Kick Down We can tell that many on the right feel a need to kick down on those below them, because they work to create a distorted picture to justify their rage and contempt. So what's the pay-off, and where did this urge come from?
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014
# 9 Concerned About Where Our Nation Is Heading? Americans think the nation is heading in the wrong direction. My biggest worries are 1) that our democracy is increasingly being transformed into a plutocracy, and 2) we are failing to address the pressing emergency of global climate change. On both issues, the Republicans are playing a destructive role, while the Democrats are failing to press the battle with the needed vigor. This pattern shows the core of America's crisis.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014# 9 Concerned About Where Our Nation Is Heading? Americans think the nation is heading in the wrong direction. My biggest worries are 1) that our democracy is increasingly being transformed into a plutocracy, and 2) we are failing to address the pressing emergency of global climate change. On both issues, the Republicans are playing a destructive role, while the Democrats are failing to press the battle with the needed vigor. This pattern shows the core of America's crisis.
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Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Bill O'Reilly/Jon Stewart Brouhaha: Denial is a River in the Right-Wing Mind If you want people to develop the virtues of discipline and responsibility, it is folly - or perhaps hypocrisy - not to be equally concerned that the society provides those people the opportunities to reap the rewards to which those virtues are supposed to lead.
Sunday, October 19, 2014The Bill O'Reilly/Jon Stewart Brouhaha: Denial is a River in the Right-Wing Mind If you want people to develop the virtues of discipline and responsibility, it is folly - or perhaps hypocrisy - not to be equally concerned that the society provides those people the opportunities to reap the rewards to which those virtues are supposed to lead.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
# 8 Beliefs that Make Liberal America Weak: Barriers to the Source of Moral and Spiritual Passions Why does that the line from Yeats apply to America in our times? "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are filled with a passionate intensity." It is an error to believe that rationality proves the unreality of "good" and "evil."
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
Thursday, October 16, 2014# 8 Beliefs that Make Liberal America Weak: Barriers to the Source of Moral and Spiritual Passions Why does that the line from Yeats apply to America in our times? "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are filled with a passionate intensity." It is an error to believe that rationality proves the unreality of "good" and "evil."
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
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Monday, October 13, 2014
# 7 Dispirited Liberal America In Liberal America these days, one encounters a good deal of hopelessness about the future of our country. Why the hopelessness? The difficult circumstances certainly play a part. But they are not answer enough. Hopelessness is also a sign of disconnection from the realm of the spirit. In that realm, there is no sense of "impossible." And this disconnection from the spirit is also at the root of Liberal America's weakness.
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
Monday, October 13, 2014# 7 Dispirited Liberal America In Liberal America these days, one encounters a good deal of hopelessness about the future of our country. Why the hopelessness? The difficult circumstances certainly play a part. But they are not answer enough. Hopelessness is also a sign of disconnection from the realm of the spirit. In that realm, there is no sense of "impossible." And this disconnection from the spirit is also at the root of Liberal America's weakness.
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
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Friday, October 10, 2014
The Force Is Not With Us: We Identify with Our Fantasy Heroes -- Why Don't We Emulate Them? We all know how to respond to evil. Again and again, our popular stories and mythology take us vicariously and gratifyingly through the process -- e.g. in films like "Avatar," "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," where our heroes risk everything to defeat an evil force in defense of sacred values. Why is it, then, that as we face that same essential situation in America's contemporary reality, we fail to respond as our heroes do?
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
Friday, October 10, 2014The Force Is Not With Us: We Identify with Our Fantasy Heroes -- Why Don't We Emulate Them? We all know how to respond to evil. Again and again, our popular stories and mythology take us vicariously and gratifyingly through the process -- e.g. in films like "Avatar," "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," where our heroes risk everything to defeat an evil force in defense of sacred values. Why is it, then, that as we face that same essential situation in America's contemporary reality, we fail to respond as our heroes do?
Series: Press the Battle (8 Articles, 13934 views)
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