Whew! That was a close one! The Christmas spirit was nearly crushed by an offensive song written in the mid-1940’s! It leads me to ask the question: Do words matter? They do, and we have cause to be deeply alarmed, but not for the reasons you might think.
“Can I give you some feedback?” (Insert groan and the thought that a root canal is preferable.) The word “feedback” is loaded with negative connotations, yet we all need feedback to perform well. Every professional athlete has a coach for just that reason. No worries – I have some tried and true tips for you!
The current battle over the Supreme Court nomination offers the opportunity for a rich dialogue with others, particularly young people, about how youthful choices have adult consequences. Let’s face it. This stuff is not easy. Where do we start? In this blog, I am offering a way to begin, and then some movie clips from To Kill A Mockingbird where lawyer Atticus Finch remains steadfastly connected to integrity, responsibility, and the value of a single human life.
Channel surfing can have its serendipitous moments, and I was the benefit of two of them this week. Each had strikingly different content. One of them showcased the best of our American society; the other, the worst (yes, it feels like we’ve seen a lot of that lately). What follows below is the tale of two leaders. Despite the stark differences, I believe there is reason for hope, and we can all participate!
It is a funny thing about growing up. Your relatives are around when you are born, so you accept their presence for the rest of your life – just like you accept the tree in your front yard. They’re just there. Until they are not. Our rocket man was my Uncle Ellsworth Brunais, an engineer for NASA and Chrysler, who led the way in BEING inclusive rather than talking about it.
