Our crisis has taken another nose dive.  We are descending into name-calling and scapegoating on all sides.  We have to stop this, and it begins with each of us.

First, a framework:  A biblical story tells of Adam “naming” the animals. Interpretations of this story abound, but I think the story is about language.  The unique gift of human beings is expression of experience through language, in an immense range of communication. Indeed, there are many languages:  expression includes the arts, music, mathematics, and so on.

In that pure state of first creation, Adam was able to find the right the name for each animal. Like all the Edenic stories “before the fall,” this was an ideal.  After the expulsion Continue reading Finding the Right Names →

In public writings and private conversations since November 8th, we’ve been trying to come to terms with shock and awe (whether you think it is awful or awesome). It’s more difficult for those whose side lost, but we should not underestimate the effect on all Continue reading In Recovery – from Moral Trauma →

The annual Consumer Electronics Show draws thousands of consumers and retailers to explore more than 20,000 new appliances, gadgets, apps, and related products every year.  This time, however, the organizers from CTA are asking “what is technologically
meaningful, not what is technologically possible…. Now we focus on what does it mean, why does it matter, how does it change our daily life?” (Los Angeles Times, 1/5/16)

It reminds me of the scenario in the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man, when a dentist discovers Continue reading CES Asks the Big Question: What Does It Mean? →