Yet...another mass shooting in the good US of A...

What are the pundits saying this time? Just another crazed individual? Perhaps we should have hired guns in schools? Maybe as part of teacher training, a course on weapons use would be required and of course then the teacher can have one at the desk at the ready? In all seriousness the point to me is always dismissed. That is, we live in a culture of violence which needs desperately to become a culture of peace. Only this will change the attitudes and provide us a way out. Here is a link to the shooting news....and here is one to the culture of peace website. What do you see as the issue? How does liberalism handle gun issues?

Before I die.....

Ms. Chang's community efforts should be applauded. Can you see a use for this type of activity? After view evaluate how useful these activities would be for us? The video is found here. For more on Ms Chang and what she does at home and her impact around the world go to this url.

Climate change? Nah...just unusual events in weather...geesh

I love Linda McQuaig, PERIOD! How she uses her wit and humor to get us to think deeper is wonderful. In this short article, Linda discusses how discussion on climate change has been deverted by 'wicked weather' events. There are many sub stories here...media influence, societal values and of course ignorance of the 'facts'. How do we as a people know how to act when agents of rationalization (see posts below) form a public perception that keeps us from moving forward? What does this say about us? About the failure of our institutions to make us aware citizens? Find the article here.

Narcissistic culture...what are the effects????

In this brillant short video about the effects of TV and how it aides our narcissitic behavior one is compelled to ask themselves...how does this play out with me? This story is from an American context but we can ask ourselves if there any truth of narcissistic culture pressure in our society as well. If there is, how do the key values we have looked at, individualism and collectivism play out for us? What consequences (short/long term) are there for our society? Is this positive or negative in our push forward to develop the 'common good' for society. Looking forward to your take on this, ty.

How 'honest' are you?...

This RSA animate video explores our perceptions of ourselves and others as to how we rationalize our behaviors. The gift of modernity has been 'reason' as we've talked about extensively in class. Take a look at this video and ask yourself how honest are you? Is bias towards a certainly ideal or goal natural? How do we justify our own actions and others? Love to hear your insights....remember...hook the ideas to our study of the philosophes.

Is Muslim reaction to anti Islam film fair...?

At what point is open out rage justified? Should people die because some loonie in the US made a 'hate' film? What would be the fair and just thing to do in this situation? Read the short article and view the 2 minute video here. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.

The Trouble with Billionaires

Ms. McQuiag's book the Trouble with Billionaires is a fabulous read and I was lucky enough to have met her. Being deemed the "Michael Moore" of Canada, she holds no punches in her belief a concentration of wealth leads to many social ills. What problems does she see in having a society in which more and more wealth is transferred to those at the top while those at the bottom of society struggle to try to make ends meet. What problems does she see? Solutions? Do you agree/disagree? Looking forward to reading your respones...the video can be found here.

Finally, an honest picture of the US, or is it?

Is America the greatest country in the world? A young women asked this question but the response was quite shocking. As you view this video, ask yourself if the assessment was fair? What arguments can you give to counter what you see? Or, was it fair and if so, what other evidence can you allude to? Quite a powerful video...still has my head spinning...how about yours?