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The Community of Man
We seem at a pivotal point in history - a time of moment, of decision making. This was eloquently captured by Aldo Leopold in his classic “A Sand County Almanac,” when he wrote of human paradox: “man the conqueror versus man the biotic citizen; science the sharpener of his sword versus science the search-light on his universe; land the slave and servant versus land the collective organism.”
Leopold was speaking of our vision of ourselves: egocentric users in a game of “survival of the fittest” and “every man for himself,” or responsible members of a ...
Somewhere near Detroit…
…a World War II veteran lies in a nursing home. Thoughts brighten and fade. The war predominates. “Jimmy and I made friends right away when we met in basic training. We ended up going to Europe together. Jimmy was always there by my side. We liberated Dachau. All that death. They told us we were fighting for democracy, our rights and freedoms. It seemed right. It seemed just. Besides, we had to do it.”
“I’ll never forget that morning. It was cold, real cold. I said ‘morning Jimmy!’ There was no answer. I said good morning again. Jimmy didn’t answer. I ...
New Year’s Resolution: Be Involved
Good government requires more than just voting. As any good manager knows, employees have to be supervised and their performance monitored. Our political representatives are no different. They must be held accountable. Citizens have to stay informed on issues. They have to know enough to sort through misleading sound bites and talk show bombast. They have to communicate with their representatives.
Yes, politics is dirty. There is too much money and mudslinging. But maybe politics would be more civil if citizens were more involved. Maybe our belief that we can't discuss ...
