Much is being made of the angry white men of America, men who have lost jobs, lost wives, and have lost hope. That lost hope has been replaced with anger - anger at women, at minorities, at immigrants and politicians. It's a troubling and complicated... Continue
Public Citizen
The Trump campaign unleashed a torrent of news stories about sexual harassment and abuse of women by men. As Rebecca Solnit points out in her book of essays on the topic, "Men Explain Things to Me," male aggression against women is a long-standing feature of... Continue
I recently went back east to attend my 50th high school reunion. I've attended other reunions; the 20th and the 40th, so I've had contact with some classmates over the years. This time, however, quite a few former students showed up who have never attended... Continue
TRIGGER WARNING: I'm about to go all Jungian on you. If actualizing your archetypes causes you difficulty, you might choose to stop reading here. Are you in touch with your inner Ares? Donnie Trump sure is. And Hillary's inner Athena? She'd be nowhere without it.... Continue
When I was eight both of my grandfathers were sixty, which in 1956 actually was old. They were already stoop-shouldered and mostly liked to sit shirtless in lawn chairs in the hot sun for hours, smeared with sun tan oil. They wore suspenders and their... Continue
One reason I sometimes feel dissatisfied with life is that my expectations are too high. In fact, this is the primary reason. I expect, for example, that candidates for President of the United States will have been taught good manners like politeness and not interrupting... Continue
Donald Trump recently justified his gutter-talk about women by calling it "locker-room" banter, and added that he's heard much worse from Bill Clinton while playing golf. To his avid male supporters, Donnie's potty-mouth probably sounds good; there are millions of men who talk trash about... Continue
For many people, there's something about the present that's just not good enough, the nagging feeling that what's happening now needs to better, is in some way insufficient and unsatisfying. Out there, tomorrow, in the future, things will be better. Even if we like our... Continue
Remind me, Dear One, to Tell you the fable about the Atom that hungered to be a Molecule. Most of us believe that what elevates a person in society is intelligence and talent, but this is not entirely true. Intelligence and talent are not insignificant;... Continue
There have always been competitive ones among us; from brute physical aggression to sophisticated strategic thinking, the ambitious make waves in the fabric of society. For much of human history, competition ended in death, and it ends in death sometimes even today. In recognition of... Continue