In a recent special edition entitled “Overlooked,” the New York Times acknowledged that the thousands of obituaries they have published since 1851 have mostly chronicled the lives of men. Promising to do better going forward, the newspaper created “Overlooked” to highlight the major contributions that women have made to our country. Why now, I ask? I’m sincerely curious. Does hindsight’s rear-view mirror perspective allow us to see more clearly, by easing hard truths from the past? Do new … [Read more...]
Focusing on the Positive
The reptilian part of our human brains sometimes seems hardwired to focus on the negative. Perhaps it’s an evolutionary quirk passed along from our forebears as a means of helping us survive a somewhat undesirable and frightening world. Or, perhaps we can only attribute it to the fault in our stars. In any event, from time to time, we encounter facts that seem to contradict the obsessive, pessimistic thoughts of our inner Eeyore. Nicholas Kristof’s recent piece in the New York Times, “Why … [Read more...]
