Trayvon Martin, the NRA, and other Bar Mitzvah Placecard Setting Ideas

I have been working on a blog post on the Trayvon Martin shooting at least since the verdict last July, and probably since the actual shooting in February 2012.  And, you know what?  I have accepted today that it will never happen.  I have been accused of being too politically correct, and of having a…

Beyond Liking on Facebook: Taking Action for Social Change and The Montessori School of Englewood

Below are two stories, one about taking action for social change (like really taking action—not just liking something on Facebook) and the other story is about how media can perpetuate negative stereotypes (and how important it is to see something firsthand before passing judgment.)  Both stories are interwoven here because 1.) The stories converge, albeit…

Intercultural Communications + Inclusion + Improvisation = Action

This may look like I accidentally posted a private e-mail to my blog. I won’t deny it, I really do want to introduce artist Chris Jordan, author of Running the Numbers to Brenda at Kinship Circle  (and to Janet at SHARK). But it’s really about Intercultural Communications. Intercultural communications looks at our similarities and differences, evaluating…

Intercultural Competence, Socrates and Charlie Chan

US business culture norms today are all about action and the bottom line.  “Show me the money!” Think about it.   If Socrates were working at a corporation in the US today, with all of his thinking and pontificating, his boss might say “he’s full of baloney…what has he actually DONE?” (or more likely, “Socrates, stop…

How Action (and mistakes) can Positively Move Discussion on White Privilege Forward

  Have you ever been in a position at work where you are working your tail off and all you hear is criticism from those around you?  As explained by a sympathetic friend to me once, “it’s like the idea of a moving target.  If everyone else is sitting around doing nothing, you running by…

Beyonce, Qadaffi, and Core Values in Intercultural Communications

My college roommate used to love to start conversations at parties by asking “Do you think good and evil are objective or subjective? (This was the same roommate whose favorite Charades word was Dostoevsky’s “Gulag Archipelago,” but that’s another story…) A lively conversation always ensued. Is murder always bad? What if the person is terminally…