The thoughts and prayers of Americans and citizens around the world are with the Ukrainian people in their time of crisis. With the news changing almost hourly, we cannot begin to chart in this space what is happening on the ground. Instead, we will here try to offer some perspective on their very ancient and […]
Europe
Rounding Out Women’s History Month: Current Women Leaders around the World
How aware are we Americans that many of our sister nations – other advanced democracies – have had the advantage of a woman leader, whether President, Prime Minister or other Head of State, while we have not? Since the 1980s, the following countries have all had female Heads of State: Iceland, Norway, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, East […]
Defining Our Terms: Essential for the 2020 Race
Terminology matters. As the 2020 presidential election cycle heats up, there is a great deal of banter in the air, among politicians, pundits, journalists, citizens, etc., about terms such as “socialism,” “Democratic Socialism,” “the radical left,” “welfare state,” capitalism and others. I am not an expert in economics or political science, but I offer the […]
Where Were You in 1974?
As we noted earlier, wages of American workers have stagnated over the past 40 plus years. In these days of a generally healthy stock market, very low unemployment, low interest rates, and the fact that the overall economy has been getting steadily healthier since the depths of the Great Recession in 2008-09, we must acknowledge […]
Index to the Second Year
Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF! Here is a guide to the past year of blog posts (note that some posts appear in several categories). If you want a guide to the first year (October 2015-October 2016), you can find it here. Posts on Social Justice, Politics and Our Peer Nations The […]
Beware of Seductive Ads
You may have seen some recent ads on TV with a focus on tax reform, jobs, and supporting the so-called American Health Care Act (AHCA) of the Republicans. These ads promote middle-class growth, support companies being “unfettered” from government regulation, and laud supposed “choice” and freedom when it comes to health care. These stated goals […]
Adopting a New President
I had a wild thought: I’d like to adopt for myself a new President! There are quite a few to choose from now: Justin Trudeau in Canada; Emmanuel Macron in France; certainly Angela Merkel in Germany; Gudni Johannesson of Iceland; or Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland. There are probably others we can think of. I am […]
Learning from Rick Steves
I have become a huge fan of Rick Steves since “discovering” him on a Public Broadcasting System station last year. I have only traveled to and in Europe 10 times, primarily as a tourist and researcher, but Steves has made Europe the primary focus of his professional life for over four decades. In case you’re […]
What’s next?
What a stunning election result! I guess we will need to wait and see what a Donald Trump presidency will look like, especially if he is backed up by a Republican Congress, but as a person of faith and supporter of Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, I will attempt to remain positive, hopeful, and helpful. […]
The Problem of Hyperindividualism and its Impact on American Life
“Hyper” – from the Greek “huper,” meaning over, beyond. “Individualism” – the stance or philosophy that values the moral worth of the individual as well as independence and self-reliance. In the US, individualism generally has a positive meaning and often (or at least should) lead to the development of each person’s fullest potential. Hyperindividualism, on the […]