On the Bright Side

Grit, resilience and rugged individualism are components of our collective American identity. We are warned that replacing “picking ourselves up by our bootstraps” with participation trophies and helicopter parenting has robbed this generation of the skills needed to succeed in a ‘dog eat dog’ world. To an extent that may be true. But is that the kind of world we necessarily want to live in? Can’t humans evolve from this Darwinian way of relating to one where allowing ourselves to be helped by others in times of weakness is a strength that propels all of us to a brighter future? An eternal optimist at best, and a bit ‘Pollyanna’ at worst, I realize this thesis leaves me open to criticism from those who will accurately point out the historical evidence to the contrary. Evidence to the tune of about the past, say…. forever years. But I love to imagine the possibilities of a compassionate, tolerant, nay, accepting, free-from-fear civilization where mutual respect for our differences trans...

Life is noisy. In the beginning, were amoebae saying, “What’s all that racket?!”  as each new species emerged on the planet? I bet they were. This spring we had a colony birds in our backyard that kept me up to the point that I was ready to buy a shotgun. The rosiest of shades were no match for this band of 3 a.m. squawkers! The only bright side was that some dear soul invented foam plugs which I promptly stuffed into my ears and cursed the bird gods for not getting this one right.  It’s not easy to tune things out. The next morning, I grabbed my coffee and the dog and headed out for my morning walk. In the early morning light, the noises that were my nemesis just a few hours before became music to my ears. Even the loudest squawker! I decided, if this were an orchestra, he’d be the oboe. There were caw-caws and cute little high-pitched chirpers; ducks and blue heron; and some of the happy noises were coming from squirrels running around in the trees. Which then helped...

Our world is changing at a pace we simply are not accustomed to. Just when we figure out how to use some piece of innovative technology, a newer version comes around making the old one obsolete. On a larger scale, the same is true for many of the jobs and institutions that have stabilized advanced societies since the end of World War II, making it difficult to keep up. The increased speed with which we humans are being asked to adjust to is shocking to our collective system. Future historians will analyze the forces at work at the turn of this century and, with the benefit of hindsight, will write books, teach classes and update curriculum so that future generations can learn from our mistakes. We, on the other hand, are living through it. Every day we are inundated with loud, frustrated, even angry people yelling at each other and blaming each other for something that, I believe, is really bigger than all of us. No one has “the answer” for how to “fix this” because, once again, we hu...

Globalization. Scholars weigh the pros and cons. Politicians take sides about how it impacts ‘us.’  You would think globalization is a 20 th century concept but, really, it’s been happening since the beginning of time. When you think about it, the center of anyone’s universe begins with the self. The extent to which our world expands and interacts with others depends on the transportation technology of the time period. We started on two feet, and now we have rockets. You get the picture. Roughly 2300 years ago, Alexander the Great traveled outside of his world and found that, in fact, there were some other pretty sophisticated places out there. He found powerful kingdoms in Egypt, Persia and India, sharing (and imposing) Greek culture with those he encountered and bringing with him some very cool items and ideas he found in each region. His travels and conquests resulted in a blending of cultures historically referred to as Hellenistic and it was the largest example of globaliz...

I have joined the ranks of what is commonly known the “Sandwich Generation.” My mom and dad are, fortunately, still very healthy, but they are midway through their seventies and the clock stops for no one. At the other end are my almost grown kids. Both in their twenties and living away from home, but nowhere near flying solo just yet. While they may not need me on a day to day basis, they most certainly still depend on my paycheck and health insurance. And my parents live in New York. They used to come visit me and my busy life, but they aren’t as foot loose and fancy free any more, so visits from them are less and less frequent. Ever wanted to be in two places at once? So I took a leap of faith and made a gigantic career move. I left the brick and mortar classroom for the virtual world! Technically I still have to work from Florida, but at least I can leave mid-day on Friday and come back early morning Monday and not miss a beat. This would have been impossible to do twice a mo...

There are very few places you can go today where the internet is not available at least in a local cafe and everyone, regardless of social class, has a cell phone. I’ve traveled enough to know that, even in some of the least developed cities, the internet is often better than the water. Except in Cuba. Cuba sits squarely on the cusp between two centuries. The cars famously remain from the pre-embargo heyday of American auto manufacturing and they are a sight to behold. Almost all of the taxis are some version of 1950s Chevy. And while tourists are apt to seek the perfect selfie, locals are virtually cell-free! No internet cafes, no GPS… just friendly people always willing to direct you or even show you how to get to where you want to go. Of course, everybody “knows a guy” who can get you what you are looking for, but that is the spirit in an emerging marketplace creeping ever so gingerly away from a command economy to a free market (think China in the early 1980’s).  Maybe Cu...

On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, two political rivals came together to commemorate the “day that will live in infamy.” Both men served in combat during the second world war and were inspired toward a life of public service as a result. Then, despite being on the same side of the political aisle, they became bitter political rivals later. During the 1988 Republican primaries, Dole publicly confronted Bush, demanding he “stop lying about my record.” (If only this were still an example of bitter. But I digress..) Bush went on to win the general election and, despite their rough, gloves off campaign, Dole went on to serve as the senate majority leader in his administration. He explained, “Many people doubted I could serve the president since we had a rather rough campaign.” But that turned out not to be the case and the two put their differences aside and got to work. Dole explained that, “At that time you turned the page and said, ‘OK, I can either go backw...