When we dehuminize another person, it makes it easier to attack them. Since you have lowered this other person below human status, you have created an illusory situation in which is it justified to marginalize that person. Whichever side of the political spectrum you fall, we are all guilty of this. How often do we … Continue reading When We Dehumnize
Collective Effervescence
My first year at Iowa State I went to an opening showing of the movie Mortal Kombat with several of my dorm mates. The experience was so amazing, that I talked several into going the next night as well. Compared with the first night, the second was awful. What I came to learn was that … Continue reading Collective Effervescence
Unity of All Substance
In her book, Braving the Wilderness, Brené Brown defined spirituality as "recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion." This connectedness is also a theme of … Continue reading Unity of All Substance
Raise Up Your Shield, Spartan
Your breastplate and your helmet is to protect only you. The shield is to protect the entire group. Stephen Pressfield, author of "Gates of Fire" about the 300 Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae (also "The War of Art" another one of my favorites), encouraged us recently to hold up our shields. The United States … Continue reading Raise Up Your Shield, Spartan
Idea Meritocracy
For each important decision we have to make, what if we had a system in place that would bring in other intelligent and independent thinkers that will most likely disagree with us, but in a way that leads to a solution produced through resolving the collection of thinking that takes place? This is what an … Continue reading Idea Meritocracy
