Our beloved world is entering an increasingly unstable period, full of dangers and also full of possibilities. In many countries, old political parties are crumbling faster and anyone thought imaginable. Old geopolitical alliances have come unglued as the US comes to exercise its role as world hegemon in new and unpredictable ways. The development of … Continue reading The Fortress World of Capitalism vs. the Beautiful Possibilities of Cooperation
Unicorns, Gnomes, and Plea to the Press on Covering Trump
On January 11 finally Trump held his much awaited press conference. And it was a terrifying success. The press faithfully covered a wild and strange show. But we don't need to be told about the show that was performed. What we needed was a consistent grounding in reality. It was as if, covering the moment … Continue reading Unicorns, Gnomes, and Plea to the Press on Covering Trump
Thinking about Fascism
The 2016 presidential election made me think about 1933 and Hitler's rise to power. I've known that he came to power through constitutional means and then used that power from the inside to destroy a constitutional system of government. This seemed like a good time to better understand the way that someone who was a … Continue reading Thinking about Fascism
Getting out of this Mess by Building support for Economic and Social Justice
The election was terrible and means huge setback in the things we who support social and economic justice care about. For the climate it may mean the difference between the possibility of building a sustainable future and getting to the changes too late to avoid catastrophe. The current period is likely to give a major stress … Continue reading Getting out of this Mess by Building support for Economic and Social Justice
White Supremacy won the Election
Ever since last Tuesday I, and most people I know, have felt shattered. It is a blow to our common humanity that someone who expressed such hatred toward so many of us could have gotten a majority vote for the presidency. What was the most striking to me was how overwhelmingly white voters, including white … Continue reading White Supremacy won the Election
On Surviving the Trump Years with Our Spirits Intact
The day after the election most people I knew were exhibiting physical signs of stress. I felt it mostly in my stomach. The morning after the election, I spent time commiserating with an undocumented student I mentor, and who I love. I held her and tried to be supportive of her in her fear that … Continue reading On Surviving the Trump Years with Our Spirits Intact
Healthy News Habits
As a middle aged college professor, I hear a lot from colleagues about how worried they are about how young people relate to news. The dominant narrative among us older folks is that young people: don’t consider news important; spend all their time surfing the net for celebrity gossip and cute videos; spend all of … Continue reading Healthy News Habits
Empowered Students Transforming Colleges: Civic Engagement as an Equity Strategy
The California Communities Colleges system is engaged in a serious attempt to close the racial achievement gap so that students from all demographic groups are achieving at high levels. The word being used for this attempt is “equity.” The idea is that we should not treat all our students equally. Rather, we should try to … Continue reading Empowered Students Transforming Colleges: Civic Engagement as an Equity Strategy
Don’t Mourn, Organize…and Vote
Presidential elections are important. They are really important. If George Bush hadn’t been president, the US would not have bombed Iraq, ISIS would not exist. And yet around presidential election time, people get wrapped up in the elections in ways that are not helpful for building a just and sustainable society. There is a lot … Continue reading Don’t Mourn, Organize…and Vote
Making beautiful things where everyone gains and no one profits
My friend Annette Aylward is trying to make a living as a crafts person. She makes beautiful handmade linen towels. She believes in craft. She loves to make these things. To make a living making handmade things woven out of linen she needs to charge a lot of money for them. And she is successful … Continue reading Making beautiful things where everyone gains and no one profits
Cynthia Kaufman 