People are asking that a lot lately, and unfortunately, the answer just seems to be, “It’s their fault.” The blame game gives politicians plenty to exploit as they hope to rile us all up to vote this way or that. I see no sense in Republicans or Democrats claiming to know how to effectively govern in tumultuous times. This is a new historical moment. No one has the answers. None of us knows how to deal with global pandemics, artificial intelligence, and disinformation campaigns on the levels we are seeing today. No one. Because we have not been here before. We have, however, throughout the history of civilization, experienced tumultuous times. And we have not, historically, handled them well. It has been our human tendency to become ethnocentric to the detriment of entire peoples and continents. This we have seen again and again, and the rhetoric of politicians and political leaders around the world today is reminiscent of past turbulent times. From the invention of the wheel to the
The Beatles had it right from the git-go: Love is all you need. An early American promoter of Love Is All You Need was actually the first woman to run for president of the United States. No, it wasn’t Hillary Clinton! Victoria Woodhull was a Lady of Liberty back when actual liberty was reserved for those with political power. In 1872, Victoria Woodhull ran for President of the United States, nominated by the Equal Rights Party, with Frederick Douglass as a running mate (although Douglass never acknowledged he was on the ticket). The Equal Rights party of 1872 sought to forgive and reunite the suffragists with the African American civil rights activists after the disappointing exclusion of women from protection under the 15th amendment just a few years earlier. It was a tumultuous time politically. After years fighting the same battle for universal suffrage, the 15th amendment pitted men against women. Unfortunately, and sadly, unsurprisingly, the powers that be at the time finally rec