Being Counter Cultural: Opposing the 3P’s of Polarisation, Popularism and Post-truth
I’ve been working through Alastair Campbell’s book, But What Can I Do? It’s a call to relevant political engagement at a time characterised by polarisation, popularism and post-truth. Campbell sees these three P’s as the curse of our time, dangerous tools used by power holders for short term gains at the expense of long term flourishing. It’s hard to deny his analysis. He is adamant that far too many political leaders are simply not “serious” people, but that they are chasing the latest head line to ensure their name is on everyone’s lips. You...
Read MoreRefresh: The Virtue and Vice of Agnosticism
I don’t usually suggest that agnosticism is a virtue, though this refresh post wisely reminds us that context makes a difference, and that it is as well to be unsure about some things. The post originally appeared on 26 June 2022. The Virtue and Vice of Agnosticism We are sometimes too sure of things we should be open minded about, and too uncertain about the things that really matter. Agnosticism, that tantalising space where we see all sides of an argument and put a definitive answer in the too hard basket, is sometimes a virtue, and sometimes a vice. Let me give a few examples from...
Read MoreConnectedness or Autonomy? From Should to Could
The right of each individual to be astonishing, amazing, independent and – well, individual – has never been more firmly asserted than now. You see it in the shift in our vocabulary. It wasn’t that long ago when people would seriously ask what they “should” do. There was a reasonable community consensus of what constituted the good and moral life, and with that consensus, there was some pressure to conform and to do the things we “should” do. Today we are more interested in all the things we “could” do – and tend to get irritated...
Read MoreRefresh: 7 Signs of a Healthy Relationship
This refresh post from 22 July 2021 explores the ever pertinent question of what signs we can look for to indicate we are in a healthy relationship. Of course, if the signs aren’t there, we can move into the “what can we do about this?” territory. Hope it’s helpful… 7 Signs of a Healthy Relationship I’ve been asked the question often enough, “How can we be sure our love will last? How can we know if our relationship is more than infatuation?” Many decades ago I was helped to explore the question by Anthony Kosnik’s (ed) work Human Sexuality: New Directions...
Read MoreWhy we need confident humility and humble confidence
It seems counter-intuitive to say we need confident humility or humble confidence, but bear with me. It’s not as absurd as it may sound, and there is more than enough research to confirm that the best leaders are confident and inspire confidence when they are also personally humble. Why are both needed, and does it matter? The word humble has it’s roots in the Latin word humus, or “earth”. To be humble is therefore to be from the earth or down to earth. It helps us to understand the beatitude “blessed are the meek (or humble) for they will inherit the...
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