tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.comments2023-07-20T15:10:51.084-06:00Conversations for the Common GoodDouglas R. Sharphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09292704712526231070noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-29987547783313262732023-07-20T13:39:32.305-06:002023-07-20T13:39:32.305-06:00A very helpful essay, especially in summarizing in...A very helpful essay, especially in summarizing insights, studies, and theories about the status of democracies. I came to this particular discussion with a bias: that Tom Jefferson was right in contending that public education is key to democracy. But now I sense that he made the mistake of assuming that public education would surely include the study of civics, which would include not just the student's exposure to the lessons of history in theory and practice as well as the contemporary disciplines of the humanities and the natural and social sciences. I had the benefit of that kind of education, I believe. But I’’m not confident that this remains the case, to say nothing about the possibilities of improving on public education. And then there’s the matter of what role in public media now plays in shaping the citizens' perspectives and access to information--with thoughtless programming and the spreading of misinformation. Add AI to the list of challenges democracies now face. I look forward to Sharp’s further analyses in addressing what might be done to get us back on track--which I’m assuming Jefferson is still worth attention to.Larry Greenfieldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-10537668402257956762022-11-25T03:08:37.621-07:002022-11-25T03:08:37.621-07:00Doug, have you seen Dr. Eric Ohlman's (our for...Doug, have you seen Dr. Eric Ohlman's (our former colleague at Northern), "American Baptists and Christian Nationalism"? It traces elements of CN back to the Colonial period. Interesting read. Chuck PS Very insightful piece! Thanks for sharing.Chuck Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13674523327733249705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-14119384188991091442022-10-29T12:10:27.679-06:002022-10-29T12:10:27.679-06:00Wow! This such a comprehensive, much needed and im...Wow! This such a comprehensive, much needed and important statement. Keep it going dear Brother!Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-17797572502563394372021-11-15T08:18:33.699-07:002021-11-15T08:18:33.699-07:00Excellent post.
there exists among such persons...Excellent post. <br /><br /><b>there exists among such persons and groups a contempt for real-world data, inability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and a disinclination to assess the information wildly filtered through and distorted by social media.</b><br /><br />Perhaps even more unmooring is the knowledge that this mass hysteria is infecting one's loved ones. Otherwise kind, loving, thinking parents and grandparents being caught up in this kind of political sickness of angry fascism... it's enough to make one closed off to all manner of institutions.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11796031290448656021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-12660380785005825842020-10-03T12:47:09.102-06:002020-10-03T12:47:09.102-06:00John -- I have neither a sense of prescience nor a...John -- I have neither a sense of prescience nor a skill of prognostication, and it is both saddening and maddening to learn that Trump has the infection and affliction with the disease when it could have been otherwise, and quite possibly would have been but for his narcissism and sociopathy.Douglas Sharpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-4575144117961112972020-10-03T12:14:15.764-06:002020-10-03T12:14:15.764-06:00So wearing this hat, Douglas, what make ye of POTU...So wearing this hat, Douglas, what make ye of POTUS's Covid-19 and its impact on America as well as the world? Curious about your unique take. John Landgrafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08093081789157773472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-55166299391850977042020-09-30T12:19:20.339-06:002020-09-30T12:19:20.339-06:00As always, provocative. Much needed for the livin...As always, provocative. Much needed for the living of these days. Thank you.FrmrHistProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01119593547396765112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-68607896487471440042020-09-11T14:58:08.217-06:002020-09-11T14:58:08.217-06:00Fritz Perls used to classified poppycock from inco...Fritz Perls used to classified poppycock from inconsequential silliness which he called chicken shit to "Oh well, he's always been full of it" horse shit to what we all know as fully blown bullshit to something even more grandiose which he called elephant shit. You probably know about the annual conference called "Creativity and Madness" (easy to Google it) which Laura and I almost attended as presenters a time or two. Maybe you should attend and present a "Madness and Bullshit" or "Creativity, Madness, and Elephant Shit" talk. You surely have substantive material for it! Well said, my friend.<br /> John Landgrafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08093081789157773472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-16278082991852196892020-09-10T12:51:21.690-06:002020-09-10T12:51:21.690-06:00Thank you for this deep wisdom.Thank you for this deep wisdom.Roger Buttshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04619853648684980547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-22736016723758674472020-08-24T12:45:15.047-06:002020-08-24T12:45:15.047-06:00Wow! Thank you Douglas! This is such a must needed...Wow! Thank you Douglas! This is such a must needed analysis of our current reality! Keep it up!Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-7159681831072569822020-07-08T16:30:57.577-06:002020-07-08T16:30:57.577-06:00Thank you, Douglas, for this informative and encou...Thank you, Douglas, for this informative and encouraging post, for Coloradans like us, but also for the whole country, because, as you have shown here, there really is no excuse not to follow Colorado's lead unless officials elsewhere are trying to suppress voter rights. I have sent this blog to my brother in North Carolina and other friends and relatives in Maine, Tennessee and Missouri. I hope they will insist that their leaders get on board this train and leave the trumpians flatfooted at the station!Jim's Sabbaticalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03205551717243459952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-91979473136175044922020-07-08T12:29:09.178-06:002020-07-08T12:29:09.178-06:00Excellent comments. We should also be aware that t...Excellent comments. We should also be aware that there is a close component of this anti-vote effort which is to allow the US Postal Service to fail through lack of funding. Trump has constantly attacked the USPS for its supposedly low rates charged to Amazon and its owner Jeff Bezos (who also owns the Washington Post). I think that threatening the USPS not only is an attack on Bezos but the failure of the Post Office would totally undermine voting by mail. I think this dual attack on voting by mail is not coincidental. There is now a pro-Trump political appointee in charge of the USPSRichard Yoast, retired political scientist and public health specialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04164803666890963012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-250996515175074262020-06-25T09:10:58.593-06:002020-06-25T09:10:58.593-06:00Thanks Douglas. well written. We had a zoom call ...Thanks Douglas. well written. We had a zoom call yesterday with some very close friends and I was pretty shaken when one, whom I've known for over fifty years, expressed dismay at the protests, not just against the violence (which I abhor) but at the way in which history is being revised - he kept saying they are not me; this (the demands that we rewrite and correct the biases of our history regarding racism) is not my history. These issues run deep and hurtful to all of us.Richard Yoast, retired political scientist and public health specialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04164803666890963012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-737923912818297612019-10-11T08:45:02.984-06:002019-10-11T08:45:02.984-06:00Thank you, Douglas, for the quote from the ancient...Thank you, Douglas, for the quote from the ancient Vedic scriptures. I'm forwarding those insightful words to many, believing they will find them as helpful to 'coping" as I experienced their meaning. I think Obama was a leader who put aside hyper partisanship. He wanted"all to thrive."Lois Heimbaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05795644465502917294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-81338315863406229592019-09-30T15:36:58.789-06:002019-09-30T15:36:58.789-06:00Thank you, Douglas, for these well-informed and wi...Thank you, Douglas, for these well-informed and wise words. Jim's Sabbaticalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03205551717243459952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-37674522397687041982019-09-30T12:20:14.503-06:002019-09-30T12:20:14.503-06:00So happy you are back, Douglas! I was thinking it...So happy you are back, Douglas! I was thinking it had been a while since you have posted. This post is so deeply needed in these crazy times. This should be published as an op-ed to be widely read! Please, keep on keeping on dear brother. Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-43674534186877506482019-06-27T02:43:21.552-06:002019-06-27T02:43:21.552-06:00I watched two OFC churches die a slow death just a...I watched two OFC churches die a slow death just as you described. Your article was healing for me to read. I wanted to move one church to become a counseling center based largely on the gifts and calling of the pastor. OFC watched and criticized me rather than see me unique gifts and calling and support me fully as their pastor. I left OFC to ‘do my thing’ in another church eight miles away and that church grew and became a thriving community. It as as a prison chaplain that I found my ultimate freedom to change and adapt as needed. I am grateful to OFC and you. <br /> Trey Littlejohnsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-84257598960137561892019-03-11T18:29:22.776-06:002019-03-11T18:29:22.776-06:00Douglas, In all honesty I dI sped read this.
Regar...Douglas, In all honesty I dI sped read this.<br />Regardless,I agree with you 100%. Great thinker and writing.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04064354191070764642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-23124346638429645402019-02-18T20:13:12.158-07:002019-02-18T20:13:12.158-07:00Thank you Douglas for this powerful and important ...Thank you Douglas for this powerful and important post. We need your voice! Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-83131481754328137582019-02-06T12:51:48.493-07:002019-02-06T12:51:48.493-07:00This is such a reasoned, thoughtful support for th...This is such a reasoned, thoughtful support for the necessity that we talk to one another expressing our beliefs. Presently, here in my desert environment, anything political is verboten. You risk social ostracism should you make a reference, negative or positive, about anything in the political news. Of course, among close friends, for whom you already know their political bias, dialogue ensues readily. But, I attended a Social Committee meeting of my HOA this morning and up front we were told we could "not talk about the SOU address last night" Where is the integrity of our individual expression that draws on the input of others? I doth protest but don't know how to break through such group fear.Lois Heimbaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05795644465502917294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-71610430517521565902019-02-05T14:39:39.587-07:002019-02-05T14:39:39.587-07:00What would this look like? Would it be a politic t...What would this look like? Would it be a politic that helps the other save face so they could do the right thing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-25303125906105823272018-12-15T19:15:17.512-07:002018-12-15T19:15:17.512-07:00Yes, Douglas. Well put! "Ultimately, the goal...Yes, Douglas. Well put! "Ultimately, the goal is not merely to reduce or eliminate incivility. It is, rather, to cultivate empathy and compassion, courtesy and respect, and mutual interest in the well-being of others." Thank you! Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-9562483998569918462018-10-29T13:14:31.021-06:002018-10-29T13:14:31.021-06:00We are enduring a presidency unknown to any previo...We are enduring a presidency unknown to any previous president. We have a president who isn't well informed, doesn't listen to intelligence briefings and lies continuously to "perform" for his base. He doesn't regularly seek any form of communication except Fox News. He is dangerous for the U.S. He is dangerous for the world. As a people, independent of our traditional party support, we have to speak out loud and clear. Our democracy is at risk!Lois Heimbaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05795644465502917294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-49086290905691307382018-10-28T17:46:19.641-06:002018-10-28T17:46:19.641-06:00I am in the process of leading a women's Bible...I am in the process of leading a women's Bible study on the Minor Prophets. What you say is being said in those messages!! So sad we cannot be civil and kind to one another. Thank you for your gracious way of discussing "hot button" issues!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12435283928980813958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-706448537627728624.post-68611326096916804082018-10-09T14:09:38.524-06:002018-10-09T14:09:38.524-06:00It is so important to shed light on this lending p...It is so important to shed light on this lending practice! Thank you Douglas! Bob Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16921024676377286326noreply@blogger.com