President Obama thanked Pope Francis for his role in bringing the US and Cuba together. He said his “moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather than simply settling for the world as it is.”A mark of moral leadership is holding up a vision and encouraging others to overcome their differences to embrace […]

True conservatives should be at the forefront of demands for changes in law enforcement recruiting and training methods and in procedures by prosecutors in the wake of controversial police actions and decisions by grand juries. Rand Paul is one of the few leading Republicans who are speaking out unequivocally against flagrant examples of abuse of government power. Instead, some Republicans […]

In contact sports if you play scared you will get hurt. And in the mid-term elections the Democrats played scared.  Yes, Republicans worked shamelessly to suppress the vote in Texas, North Carolina and other states. Yes, the Koch brothers and others flooded key campaigns with money. And yes, some irresponsible voices played on fears of the electorate with wild statements […]

This month we celebrated the life of a great community builder and social entrepreneur. John Cotton Wood, who died at the age of 97, lived every moment to the fullest in the belief that every person could make a difference. He and his wife, Denise, who died a few years ago, provided a model for building trust and connecting divided […]

This week Scotland will vote on independence. Whatever the outcome, the campaign is a reminder that identity, culture and the power of story can trump rational argument and economic self-interest. Story matters. For centuries Scots have told a story of the English as dominating neighbors and oppressors who have looked on Scots as inferior. There is truth in this. But […]

Abraham Lincoln is often quoted as saying, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.” But too often political and religious leaders select passages from sacred texts to bolster their own beliefs or prejudices.God must be appalled at hearing his/her name being used as justification for bigotry, discrimination, torture […]

Ten years ago I took part in a forum of scholars, social psychologists and racial dialogue practitioners, marking the 50th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education.  At the time we noted that American schools were reversing much of the progress toward integration achieved since the Supreme Court decision.    That same year, our youngest son graduated from Richmond Public Schools. […]

The theme of this year’s Lenten series at my church was “radical welcome.”  So I have been reflecting on what it actually means to create a welcoming space in my life, my friendships and my work with Initiatives of Change.  It takes courage to reveal your true convictions when you feel you may be alone in your beliefs among a […]

I have been reading Making Our Democracy Work by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Knopf 2010). One passage may be of particular relevance to the struggle for democracy now underway in many parts of the world from South Sudan to Egypt. It is also a challenge to those in Washington whose reluctance to follow the basic operating principles of […]