Tag Archives: Did You Hear About?

We Should Try to Understand and Respect, if Not Love, Our “Enemies”

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According to a news report last week, “President Trump brought his trademark disruptive approach to the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, telling attendees of a gathering meant to promote reconciliation, unity and prayer that his political opponents are ‘dishonest and corrupt people’ and that God is on the side of his supporters. “The president’s speech … Continue reading We Should Try to Understand and Respect, if Not Love, Our “Enemies” →

It’s Not All the War of the Roses

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There’s a very common myth that all divorces are bitter cat-and-dog struggles like the movie, The War of the Roses.  (Of course, many cats and dogs get along just fine, like mine do.) This myth just ain’t so.  Although the couple in Marriage Story had some angry fights, they retained a reservoir of love and … Continue reading It’s Not All the War of the Roses →

Somewhere Between Reasonable and Crazy

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The very touching Netflix movie, Marriage Story, provides an unusually realistic depiction of divorce dynamics. I particularly appreciate the portrayals of the spouses and their eight year-old son, reflecting the complexity of their conflicts and their ambivalences.  Both spouses are decent people – and both have their foibles.  They struggle with the tension between caring … Continue reading Somewhere Between Reasonable and Crazy →

History of a Young Female Law Professor

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The Washington Post published an account of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s career as a law professor, Elizabeth Warren Faced Sexism, Shed a Husband and Found Her Voice Teaching Law in Houston, which you might find interesting regardless of your views about her politics. The article described her academic career starting in the late 1970s.  She faced … Continue reading History of a Young Female Law Professor →

Political De-Biasing

I was going to post the piece below riffing on Arthur C. Brooks’s column about de-polarizing political biases. And then came the Democratic presidential debates this week, which provided a glaring example of how political biases often are generated and spread.  This post uses these debates as an illustration of the process and then discusses … Continue reading Political De-Biasing →

Letting Go and Forgiving

The New York Times “smarter living” column has an interesting piece about letting go of grudges and forgiving others. It cites research about the benefits of doing so. A 2006 study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology as part of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, suggested that “skills-based forgiveness training may prove effective in reducing … Continue reading Letting Go and Forgiving →

Helping People Make Hard Decisions – And Making Them Ourselves

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You are going to die.  Before then, you may endure extended periods of suffering from illnesses and injuries (especially from falling down), grisly side effects from medical treatments, chronic physical and mental deterioration, disconnection from your earlier life, loss of control, family conflict, and entanglement with the medical and insurance industries. Some of that misery … Continue reading Helping People Make Hard Decisions – And Making Them Ourselves →