Save the world by making better citizens. The CITIZENSHIP Category includes all articles, posts, and pages concerning how to be a better citizen, and thereby save your country and the world
I was listening to the wives of some friends a few weeks ago, when one of them said to the other, with a snort, “Men! They’re all alike.”
Of course, this was said with a certain degree of levity, but also with a good measure of seriousness.
This brought to mind many similar generalizations I’ve heard over the years, expressing opinions – usually derogatory – about an entire grouping of people. Continue reading What Is Prejudice?
One of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits…” is “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” As you know, by this he means you should first listen completely to someone else, without interrupting, then when it’s your turn, you can make your point.
He goes on to explain that if while the other person is speaking, you’re dancing from foot to foot, impatient to make your point, then you’re not listening to the other person.
When I first read that, I remembered with some guilt the many times I was in that exact situation, and since then, have seen others frequently do the same thing. Continue reading Learning To Listen
In a recent newsletter, I read an essay by Richard Maybury, entitled “Why Are They So Ruthless?” In this article, Maybury provides compelling evidence that socialism is alive and thriving – not economically, but in our education system today.
He presents the case that for thousands of years before the industrial revolution, young parents were so involved in scrabbling for a living that it was left up to the grandparents to raise the kids. This was a good thing, because as we all know, young parents are naive and inexperienced, while grandparents have a broader perspective on life and the world.
However, with the dawn of the 20th century, mostly as a result of government monetary policy, the extended family faded as parents chased jobs all over the landscape, leaving only the nuclear family within visiting distance. Extended family was too remote to be of influence or help. Continue reading Independent Thinker? Or Worker Bee?
I’ve been thinking a lot recently – actually, a lot on this topic since college days, but also a lot recently – about all these differences between people that some folks seem so frightened of.
What follows is just my opinion, no matter how valid I think it is.
This fear is really stupid, and it’s exhibiting a lower level of civilization than most humans should allow. It’s nothing more than xenophobia, which is understandable as a survival characteristic in lower life forms, but should be outgrown by adult humans.
People are comfortable with what they know, what they’re familiar with, and are afraid of anything different. The fear is unjustified, but that doesn’t make it go away. Continue reading The Fear of “Not Like Me”