Ah, January 1st, the new beginning and a chance to finally get it right this year. Or is it?
Perhaps it is the End of the Beginning. When we began as a nation, we were full of hope and idealism. We believed that every person could thrive and prosper if they worked hard and learned from their past mistakes.
Today, can we honestly say we believe that hard work will take us in the direction of our dreams? What happened to us? Where are we going?
By Jim Selman | BioWhen I was growing up, you needed to be master
the 3 Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) in order to be educated.
Today we need to master a new 3 set of ‘Rs’: Rights, Rewards and
Responsibilities. When I first started traveling to other countries in the 1970s, the
conversation about the USA was always in a context of respect and even
admiration—even when criticizing certain aspects. But for the last 10
years or so, I have noticed that the conversations are changing. Fewer
people are envious of who we are and our way of life. More and more see
us as recalcitrant, self-centered, parochial and unable to recover
whatever it was that made us great in the post-WWII years. Most people
across the globe have access to the same newspapers, the same media
channels and the same websites that we do. The prevailing and
unavoidable conclusion being touted from many of these sources:
governance in the USA is a mess![Read More]
Martti Ahtisaari on the right to security and the fight against poverty. Fourth in a series of short videos from The Elders supporting one goal: education for all.
Mary Robinson on a human rights approach to the Millenium Development Goals. Third in a series of short videos from The Elders supporting one goal: education for all.
[Read More]
Dr. Gro Brundtland on the right to health and the link to poverty. First in a series of short videos from The Elders supporting one goal: education for all.
By Jim Selman | BioThe Fourth of July is a uniquely American
holiday. This weekend, I felt a little bit like I was a part of a Bill
Geist segment on small town celebrations on CBS’s Sunday Morning show.
My father is a World War II veteran. He joined the Army Air Corps in
1939 and retired after a career in the military in 1968. Yesterday, the
community of Lake Kiowa, Texas honored him and 31 other survivors of the
‘greatest generation’ for their contribution. It was a very
moving experience to witness[Read More]
Jennifer Corriero is co-founder and executive director of Taking It Global. Her poem, originally published on Jennifer's blog in December 2009, is reprinted with kind permission from the author.
How does change happen? This is perhaps one of those eternal questions that carries both simplicity and depths of complexity juxtaposed in a tension so bright and dark that emotions explode and identities blur.[Read More]
By Jim Selman | 
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