I chose this photo because it represents the quality of happiness that reflects the values experienced and cherished by the Muslims that I know. I have been privileged to know many such brothers and sisters for decades, and these bonds insulate me from stereotypes. However, at a certain point, I …
ISIS and us
I chose this photo because it represents the quality of happiness that reflects the values experienced and cherished by the Muslims that I know. I have been privileged to know many such brothers and sisters for decades, and these bonds insulate me from stereotypes. However, at a certain point, I …
Chipotle, Judd Apatow, and cultivating a quality of thinking
I went to Chipotle for a burrito and they gave it to me in a bag that had a short essay printed on it. I was captivated by it as I read. The title was “Two Minutes of Rambling Wisdom,” and it was by Judd Apatow, a successful writer, director, and producer of comedy films and TV shows. The on the …
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“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
When I read this quotation attributed to Maya Angelou on the stamps I just bought, I wept with emotion. And then I thought about it a little more, and came up with a more complex response. The contrast between an answer and a song is stark. An answer–in this context–comes from the isolated …
Transgender? Gender equality and complementarity
A majority of philosophers today criticize “essentialism” in gender theory as an error that uses traditional cultural stereotypes to define men and women in ways that are needlessly narrow and harmful in their application. I believe that there are many examples of gender stereotypes that merit the …
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On being seventy: Confucius, Jesus, and righteousness
Confucius set the bar high. The autobiography in his Analects is a six-line classic. At fifteen, I set my heart upon learning. At thirty I established my resolve. At forty I became free of doubts. At fifty I understood the Mandate of Heaven. At sixty, I ceased to resist it. At seventy, I could …
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