Most young people, most middle-aged people, most old people do not stand up. But there will be a fraction who will . . . and their having done it changes everything. ~ Tracy Sugarman No one who went to Mississippi in 1964 returned the same. I came home from the dusty roads of the Delta … Continue reading Your Feet Are in the Place Where History is Made: the Story of Tracy Sugarman
Sometimes you're just too close to something to see it clearly. To see it for what it really is. It's like you've got your face pressed to it, and all you can see is the small points. The things you want to see. ~Scott Snyder Sometimes when you're too close to something, it's hard to … Continue reading It Was An Attempted Coup, or, You Have To See the Whole Picture
What is to give light must endure burning. ~Viktor Frankl Every New Year I remember the remarkable story of a promising young psychotherapist named Viktor Frankl. It was WWII. He was jewish. And he refused an opportunity to escape the Nazis. He had obtained a passport – a golden ticket that would save his life and … Continue reading Life Demands Meaning: Motivation and Moving Into 2023
If you've ever lived in – or even visited – a century-old apartment building, you know that at this time of year they can be unbearably hot. The radiators in those old buildings kick off an impressive amount of heat. The best relief is often to throw open a window or two. And that makes … Continue reading We Have the Tools. Why Aren’t We Using Them?
Knowing this would be another consequential week ... I spent the weekend gardening. Gardening is perhaps not the right term for it. It was more like frantically planting the 18 pounds of bulbs that I purchased before the ground freezes in the impending Polar Vortex. But, even though there's too much work awaiting me, and … Continue reading Season’s Greetings … From My Garden
“If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.” ~Prof. Greg Scott “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” ~Charlie Chaplin Here we are, in the thick of the holiday season. It’s that time to be happy, and cheerful, and sing-songy and chipper. Right? Right? Well, … Continue reading How Laughter Helps You Take Control Over the Uncontrollable (Holiday Edition)
We’re having a hard time coming to terms with what we’re dealing with here. This is a great power conflict, the third great power conflict in the European space in a little over a century. It’s the end of the existing world order. Our world is not going to be the same as it was … Continue reading Coming to Terms With Change
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~Winston Churchill I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round...as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men … Continue reading Bah, Humbug: the Power of Giving
What's stopping you? ~John Over the weekend I had one of those inspiring conversations that stick with you. A new colleague of mine told me how, over a 12-hour road trip from Texas to Santa Fe in her blue Mazda CRX, she dreamed up a new voter protection organization. And she told me how that dream … Continue reading What’s Stopping You? (And Happy Anniversary to Our Small Deeds Family)
On the midterms, one structural take that I think has been lost. The mass politicization and grassroots organizing of the Trump years have resulted in a standing blue army of battle-ready voters, donors, organizers. It's just hard to outvote them. ~Joseph O'Neill I hope you've gotten some sleep. I'm sure you've needed it. And I … Continue reading You are the blue wall.
Small Deeds Done 