Condoleezza Rice is a work of art, her own exquisite creation. As we all by now know, as a child she excelled in music and sports, skipping two grades and achieving a baccalaureate by 19. Yesterday, NPR commentators were awestruck in admiration at her self-containment. At a break they remarked that while she’d come into …
When I started writing “2005” on things last week, I had a surreal feeling: this isn’t the future I was expecting. The turn of the 21st century was such a big deal for my generation, a longed-for milestone. When I was a child in the fifties, we thought that by the year 2000 people would …
According to many reports, the outpouring of donations for tsunami relief in Asia is setting records, especially for online donations. Yesterday, NPR’s “Talk of The Nation” featured a call-in with international aid executives. As I drove around town on my errands, a man telephoned to ask whether American taxpayers were going to have to make …
At dinner with friends this past weekend, the conversation turned to the urgent, imperative topic that seems inevitable these days: what shall we do now? In this context, “we” means all who feel misrepresented by the present U.S. administration, all who fear for ourselves, our nation and the world should its ambitions expand unchecked; all …
The huge dissonance in political life — the conundrum for any thoughtful analyst with democratic values — is why so many people who share no material interests with George W. Bush voted to re-elect him president. Most pundits seem to feel satisfied with a two-word explanation: “values voters.” Evidently it puts a cork in their …
On Thanksgiving, our local paper carried an AP story about Bobby Goldstein, the creator of a reality TV show called “Cheaters,” in which camera crews accompany people who want to find and confront their unfaithful partners. One hundred old episodes are being re-edited, excising language and sexual images that might upset the FCC, which — …
Colin Powell has stepped down as Secretary of State, and it appears Condoleeza Rice is going to be his replacement. It also looks like the end of an era of essentialist thinking about race. In a post-election essay that’s been circulating via the Internet, Charles Frederick characterized race as “a concept of no meaning while …
I am not a Pollyanna. I feel the need to say this because I have gotten so many messages since my last blog post, both from people thanking me for suggesting a basis for hope that is grounded in reality, and from people who feel certain that now, any remnant of hope is merely insulation …
This morning, a message posted to a list I’m on cited a teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav: all of life is just a narrow bridge; we must remember the most important thing is not to fear. There’s a beautiful tune that goes with those words, and I’ve been letting it circulate behind my thoughts …
I have a habit of mentally preparing for the worst, especially when I hope for the best. I think my particular habit must stem from my father’s sudden death when I was a child: that experience installed a piece of software I’ve used ever since to insulate myself from unbearable shock. But it isn’t unique …