I have begun this site to offer thoughts and ideas about what I consider the pressing issues of our times.  Politics have become very polarized around the world at a time when we need to find common ground on many critical issues. This blog is offered as a call for common sense and compassion to meet the collective challenges we face.

It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and another to hear.

-Henry David Thoreau

Starting Points and Ground Rules

I propose that whoever we are and wherever we’re from there are points of common ground between us.

We seek happiness, comfort, security, self-fulfillment and we deserve to pursue these as long as this doesn’t entail the imposition of undue hardship on others or systemic deprivation of the same.

We all deserve a measure of dignity commensurate with the respect we offer others.  This means civil discourse which seeks to clarify and not demean or belittle another person, viewpoint, or group, is the path to earning respect and being treated with dignity. It’s a two-way street.  All viewpoints and arguments are welcome here as long as they are expressed thoughtfully and offered constructively, following conventions of civil discourse.

Yosemite National Park, USA

Our home is worth fighting for