Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are And Please Wear a Mask
- Written by J.J.
Mayors and Governors of most states are beckoning us now to come out, come out. Cautiously we're getting a haircut once more, going to the doctor again and perhaps eating in restaurants as before. The intrepid ones are enjoying gatherings or celebrating with groups of friends. Of course, some of you provide "essential" services and never stopped going out. You held the economy up and provided groceries and medicine for us all. Thank you. I hope you're staying safe. Sooner or later we knew the moment would come when the quarantine would ease or end. Yet unlike the Munchkins, who emerged to the urging of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, to find that the Wicked Witch of the East was dead, our Wicked Corona virus can't be killed by a falling house, a bucket of water, or magical thinking. So, how will we ever get back to Kansas?
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Healing The Decades Behind Us
- Written by J.J.
Polls show that the majority of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction. For some, that perception has been consistent over Democratic and Republican administrations throughout the 2000's. Even for the ruling party dissatisfaction boils among a sizable minority. Given that, in January 2020, I wondered what would happen if we made resolutions to heal our cultural disatisfactions much like we resolve to improve our personal lives each new year. Little did I realize that 4 months into the year we'd be watching the horrifying death of a 46 year old black man restrained by police and begging for his life. That video unleashed a torrent of anguished protests in over 700 communities and triggered national and international discussions about racism in the criminal justice system. While there are many issues to solve that will improve our satisfaction with the national direction certainly reinforcing America's role as a country of fairness and "justice for all" will bolster our democracy and buoy our spirits. Would you agree? Recent polling shows America is ready to tackle that big issue. Only 7% of respondents over 55 years of age think racism isn't a problem. So, where do we go from here?
Older Americans Turn to Strengths During the Pandemic
- Written by J.J.
Aging is a gradual process of change that arms us with tools adapted to mitigating personal and external transformation. Covid-19 is causing us to open that toolbox, examine the contents, and learn their uses. Across America, as individuals and families are faced with disrupted community, older Americans are sharing their experience to provide balance and support. You've read about retired physicians and health care professionals coming forward to help our strained hospital system. You've probably also seen 79 year old Dr Fauci calmly steadying the shaky national response. Though initially fixated on preserving economic health above all else even 73 year old Donald Trump pivoted to face the crisis. His acceptance made it possible for most gubernatorial followers to initiate important, life saving preventative action for a time. In this blog I wonder how the contents of our toolboxes could help us stand strong against Covid-19.
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2019: Year In Review
- Written by J.J.
America was flooded with viewpoints in 2019. In fact, viewpoints may have overwhelmed facts causing some to say America is in a post-factual period. Bolstering that claim were more "fabricated facts" or claims of "fake news" and sophisticated technological manipulations that supplanted truth with truth-like fictions at increasing rates. AI photo creations, for instance, are now hardly distinguishable from reality and are used to spread viewpoints that seem to come from real people. That phenomenon, called "deepfakes" results in "disinformation" when misused and may be the biggest challenge to our fact based reality. That said, this review of 2019 has been diligently researched and facts included were corroborated by other trustworthy sources. As with anything you may detect a viewpoint but unlike "fabricated facts" or disinformation--- my goal is not to deceive.
In the 2 minute video above Suzanne Spaulding, Senior Advisor, Homeland Security, International Security Program speaks about the way disinformation attacks democracy.