The analysis, commentary, and complaints about American politics are prolific. Certain themes are repeatedly explored, such as voters’ educational levels, identity, and economic status, but all these are basically subordinate to the one factor nobody really talks about: the psychology of politics. Psychology, an exploration... Continue
Public Citizen
What’s going on in the world is so outlandish that it would be rejected by Hollywood as implausible, too unlikely and unbelievable. Do you find yourself asking, “Who writes this stuff?” And yet, the plot goes on. Here’s a pitch: A coddled Rich Kid from... Continue
Sorting out truth from fiction has never been easy, and today it’s harder than ever. The proliferation of disinformation, political propaganda, shameless self-promotion, and outright deception makes it very difficult to know what’s true. Lies are often more interesting, too. But what is truth, or... Continue
As the current administration in Washington continues to run roughshod over the constitution, congress and the courts, it’s worthwhile asking how it is that America’s autocrats learned to behave the way they do. The answer is stunningly obvious: America’s workplace. In their wisdom, our founding... Continue
I began my adult life at eighteen protesting the war in Vietnam. The Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered our high school graduation address decrying America’s militarism, and I took up the cause. Admittedly, my impression of the army was influenced early by watching Phil Silver’s... Continue
My wife and I recently moved from one side of town to another; we’ve downsized. After living in the same house for 28 years, that move included an awful lot of stuff. As the comedian, the late George Carlin duly noted, accommodating “stuff” occupies a... Continue
Despite the fact that the world is not like it at all, people prefer to live in a deterministic reality of fixed objects where clock time governs and events are predictable. Accordingly, our systems of logic - grammars of subject, object, and verb - assign... Continue
The modern corporation had its beginnings in maritime law. In an era when global trade and exploration were dependent upon sailing ships and the monarchy of European nations, merchant capitalism arose to fill a monetary gap that governments couldn’t muster and introduced the concept of... Continue
Some guys are assholes. I learned this very early on in life, and it’s still true. I’ve known some women who were assholes, but on balance, assholes tend to be men. So what exactly is an asshole? Assholes are mean people, highly aggressive, and frequently... Continue
For centuries, we in America have thought of ourselves as a nation of law and order. Between the two, law has maintained dominance while order has remained subordinate. That hierarchy now appears to be flipping. Democracy’s weakness is itself, which in their wisdom our founding... Continue