My Blog

Twenty-five hundred years ago the Chinese philosopher Confucius stated “Supreme indeed is the middle path.”  Moderation along with wisdom, justice and courage was one of the four core virtues of ancient pagan Greece and Rome.  The benefits of moderation were also highlighted in the Christian Bible and Jewish Torah.  In fact almost every successful religious…

Diversity of thought, experience, interests and expertise are critical for successful group decision-making and the long term success of organizations, communities and societies.  As the world becomes ever more integrated through technology, commerce, travel and immigration, every nation will also have to adapt to increasing ethnic, religious and cultural diversity.  New immigrants can bring needed…

“All creatures exist for a purpose.  Even an ant knows what that purpose is.  Only human beings have come to a point where they no longer know why they exist.”   These wise words were spoken decades ago by John Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota holy man and philosopher, but they are even more true today. …

Stone Age humans doubtless spent nights around their camp fires telling heroic tales about ancestors who triumphed over adversity through ingenuity, bravery and grit.  Once writing was invented the oldest surviving stories also chronicle the adventures of great heroes like Gilgamesh of Sumeria (4000 years ago in modern day Iraq), Odysseus of ancient Greece (2700…

The Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi famously said “Rights spring only from duties well done.”  Even as he led the struggle for Indian independence and equality for untouchables, Gandhi was careful to speak of rights in the context of their corresponding responsibilities. In the United States we may all have the right to “life,…

The high tech economy has led to rapid innovation and generated vast riches, but it has also concentrated wealth and power in the hands of a few corporations.  Today just five technology companies (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Facebook) account for twenty percent of all United States stock market value.  These companies also control roughly…

President Trump will soon be leaving office; hopefully in a peaceful transfer of power to president-elect Biden.  Although we may take this for granted, many people forget how special and fragile an event this is.  Before World War I there were only a handful of  true democracies on earth, and as recently as the 1970s…

In our attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus we have inadvertently created a parallel pandemic of social isolation, loneliness and depression.  In these trying times it is more important than ever to reach out to our friends and to remember the healing powers of friendship.  Modern research has repeatedly shown that deep friendships can…