By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D. I recently posted a blog entitled “What does it mean to be a critical thinker?” One of my readers sent a response written from a Social Darwinism point of view. This is the response I wrote to his response. When completed, I thought my response was something I’d like toContinue reading “Margins Beyond Individualism”
Category Archives: Politics
What does it mean to be a critical thinker?
When I was growing up, my mom would often tell me not to be so critical. This was often followed by the refrain “you’re so negative sometimes.” During my childhood, the idea that being critical is being negative was a powerful influence on my thinking, but it didn’t stick. As I grew older and beganContinue reading “What does it mean to be a critical thinker?”
The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes
By Harold W. Anderson, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D., LMFT When you have lived 70 years, you would think you would have learned something. Life experiences are great teachers, but you must be strong enough and willing to listen to them as teachers. This is not easy. The problem is, we all want to be right. WeContinue reading “The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes”
Plucking Chickens: Democracy or Fascism?
If you pluck a chicken one feather at a time, people are less likely to notice. “We do not argue with those who disagree with us; we destroy them.” Benito Mussolini As I think about recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court, and ponder the future, I must register alarm. And when I thinkContinue reading “Plucking Chickens: Democracy or Fascism?”
Walking through Grainfields
4th of July sermon preached by the Rev. Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., July, 2005 Before I became a marriage and family therapist, I was a minister. The last church I pastored before retirement was a church in Brush, Colorado, a community that politically and theologically was my opposite. I embraced a liberal mindset; most inContinue reading “Walking through Grainfields”
Rushing Headlong towards Civil War?
Two clergy worry about the divided nature of our country and wonder what type of sacrifice is necessary for the division to be healed. They worry if it can it be healed or are we as a country rushing headlong into another civil war? Hundreds of thousands died in the last one. What will happenContinue reading “Rushing Headlong towards Civil War?”
Mass Shootings and Red Herrings
Red Herrings, if left unattended, tend to stink up the place and the red herrings that prevent intelligent and common-sense responses to mass shooting are indeed stinking up our country. Can you say red herring? A red herring fallacy is a ploy used to divert people’s attention from the original topic of discussion. Following theContinue reading “Mass Shootings and Red Herrings”
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?
We live in a world where all too often politics divides us more than unite us. If this division sparks a useful debate, it is helpful. But when it furthers the divide, which breeds hate, we have a problem. Perhaps it is by understanding the relationship between rhetoric and reality that we find the wisdomContinue reading “Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?”
Are We Going to Die?
Pictured is a postage stamp that recalls the tense standoff between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. When I was a child, we lived close to the-now-defunct Gowen Field, a strategic airbase near Boise, Idaho that, I was told, was one of the main targets for nuclearContinue reading “Are We Going to Die?”
Mental Health Care and the Free Market
Should Mental Health Care go to the highest bidder? I can remember a conversation I had a while back with a county commissioner. I was discussing an idea with him when he paused, calculated for a moment, and said “Yes. That fits into my way of thinking.” It was a while ago, so I don’tContinue reading “Mental Health Care and the Free Market”