Wisdom Wherever You Find It: Say Something

Wisdom Wherever You Find It: Say Something

Carol Davidson was my mother-in-law. She was born and raised in the badlands of New York City and managed to maintain her accent, her elbows and her pithy observations despite being exiled to Virginia as a young bride. Carol was a mere slip of a thing, as much a...
Why Laughing at Bullies Is a Problem

Why Laughing at Bullies Is a Problem

I was never an avid listener of Kanye West’s music, and I did not go out of my way to buy his albums. I’d listen to CDs made for me by friends that happened to have his songs “Graduation Day” or “Jesus Walks” on them. “Late Registration” came out the same year I was...
Is Disagreeing Agreeably on Facebook Possible?

Is Disagreeing Agreeably on Facebook Possible?

I created a private Facebook group nearly two years ago that focused on constructive dialogue. The dream for the group – Disagreeing Agreeably Is an Art – was to create a platform on Facebook that would encourage people from the entire spectrum of philosophical...
Recapturing the Lost Art of Civil Discourse

Recapturing the Lost Art of Civil Discourse

It seems as if everyone is mourning the death of civil discourse these days. Last spring, distressed by a cultural inability to have productive and meaningful conversations, four friends and I pitched an idea for a new student organization at Baylor University, which...
Common Courtesy Not So Common

Common Courtesy Not So Common

It seems that common courtesy is just not very common. I am not yearning for some romanticized, yesteryear version of politeness that only exists in aging imaginations. I’m talking about the overt, socially acceptable public ugliness that has exploded in recent years....