National Unity, M&Ms and License Plates
May 5th, 2011 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Civility, Community, Public Values
LONGMONT, Colo., May 5, 2011 — President Obama’s announcement that Navy Seals found and killed Osama bin Laden sparked spontaneous expressions of patriotism from Ground Zero to Facebook. We can debate whether dancing in the streets or solemn gratitude for long-awaited justice is more appropriate. What is indisputable is American’s deeply felt pride in their country. The open question is whether we can turn this moment of pride into a sustained period of national unity – the currency that facilitates [...]
Read more...‘Fahrenheit 451′: Did Ray Bradbury get it backward?
October 21st, 2010 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Civility, Culture, Culture-Structure
LONGMONT, Colo. — Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a cautionary tale of what could happen to a society if books and other sources of knowledge are purged — first through homogenization designed to offend no one and then through destruction. The characters in Bradbury’s narrative give up having opinions about anything consequential; are docile living at the mercy of those in power and manage their meaningless lives through excessive entertainment and self-medication. Intellectuals have no place in this society. Those [...]
Read more...Back in the Real World…
September 21st, 2010 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Civility, Democracy, Public Values
LONGMONT, Colo. — I’m a political junkie who notices the partisan debates raging over whether Delaware Republican Christine O’Donnell is a witch or whether her Democratic opponent Chris Coons is a Marxist. I’m interested in the short term and long term affects that the Tea Party will have on politics and the Republican Party. I’m curious about the “horse race” polls predicting which party will control Congress. In the real world, where my family and friends spend their time, people [...]
Read more...Schleck and Contador Spark Global Ethics Debate
July 19th, 2010 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Civility, Public Values, Sports
LONGMONT, Colo. — I was surprised when Andy Schleck’s back wheel popped up and he jolted to a dead standstill in this morning’s stage of the Tour de France. I was more surprised when Alberto Contador rode past without hesitation. I had just said to my kids watching the tour with me, “Watch this, I bet Contador slows to a crawl.” I was wrong. My favorite historical moments of the Tour are the occasions when Lance Armstrong waited for Jan [...]
Read more...Taking Back Our Nation Begins at Home
May 28th, 2010 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Atwood, Civility, Community, Public Leaders, Public Values
The Tea Party Movement is the most recent vehicle people use to express their anger toward government. The 1992 Ross Perot campaign for President was a vessel for similar discontent nearly twenty years ago. Concern over surging national debt fuels the Tea Party now and Ross Perot in the early 1990s. It was twenty years ago that The Harwood Institute released the report Citizens and Politics. This report was covered by nearly every major news outlet in America. It was [...]
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