Apr 14, 2022Chris Hayes Is Not Helping the Democrats; He Might Even Be Hurting Their ProspectsMy wife and I watch Chris virtually every evening. His coverage of the Pandemic, the investigation into the January 6, Insurrection, and the continuing attack on democracy has been excellent. I frequently share segments of his show via Twitter. However, he is not helping the Democrats as much as I…2 min read2 min read
Feb 22, 2022The Key to Defending DemocracyNews coverage of the lies and misinformation running rampant in America fails to explain why this is happening or what can be done about it. Research on social influence points to what is needed. The principles of social influence are well understood. Research on social influence flourished in the 1950s…3 min read3 min read
Jul 26, 2021Our Climate Pearl HarborIn the late 1930s as Germany and Japan were taking control of huge swaths of the world, Americans were strongly opposed to getting into the war. For all his rhetorical skills, President Roosevelt was unable to mobilize the nation. That changed with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. …4 min read4 min read
Jul 12, 2021Racism at the Supreme CourtRacism: the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another; Miriam Webster Dictionary In 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which ended the suppression of black voting in the South. For the most part, laws in Southern States did not explicitly…Voter Suppression Laws4 min readVoter Suppression Laws4 min read
May 7, 2021I Have Sympathy for Alienated White MenAs a behavioral scientist I’ve spent over 30 years conducting research on the development and prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior. …4 min read4 min read
Mar 18, 2021How Action Circles Can Address Toxic PollutionThe idea of an action circle is that it can produce a single useful product at the same time that it lays the foundation for subsequent action circles to build on that foundation. Consider the problem of pollution in disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities. In her excellent book, The Sum of…Pollution3 min readPollution3 min read
Mar 15, 2021Atlas Hugged:Can We Intentionally Evolve a Prosocial World? It is not hyperbole to say that the world is at a perilous point in its evolution. Until very recently an evolutionist might have described human evolution as a process in which one species took control of the world. But now, as runaway…Cultural Evolution7 min readCultural Evolution7 min read
Feb 15, 2021What Do We Do about the Senators Who Voted to Acquit?We know from the secret ballot on keeping Liz Cheney in her position that many more Republicans believe what Trump did was wrong than are willing to admit it. Doing so would risk their political careers. I do not believe that Republicans who voted to acquit Trump should remain in…Impeachment3 min readImpeachment3 min read
Jan 16, 2021What Do We Do About the Trump Followers?Laws establish norms. When laws are not enforced, norms erode. Most people follow the law, not because they fear punishment but because they adhere to the norms that those laws encode. Representative Clyburn of South Carolina was asked by Judy Woodruff of the News Hour if Democrats should hesitate to…Trump4 min readTrump4 min read
Jan 10, 2021Join the Movement to Create a Society That Works for EveryoneThe attack on our capital shows unequivocally that the success of the Biden campaign is not the end of our American travail, but must be the beginning of a long-term social movement to build a society that works for everyone. For years we have been sending our money to the…Social Justice5 min readSocial Justice5 min read
