Category: Radical Centrism

Has the Time Come to Mandate Universal Service?

Photo above: John F Kennedy meeting with early participants in the Peace Corps, a program of people to people outreach in foreign countries. Radical Centrism: Remaking Citizenship Part IIIn my last post I promised a more detailed follow up on a key idea about rebuilding citizenship in the U.S. — mandatory universal service to country. ...

What Can We Do — What SHOULD We Do — for Our Country?

Radical Centrism Papers: Remaking Citizenship I "Ask not what your country can do for you... Ask what YOU can do for your country!" So John F Kennedy inspired us almost 60 years ago in his electrifying inaugural address.  But since the idealism he unleashed with that statement, it seems we've been just been doing a lot ...

Calling Things by Their Real Names

I love a good debate. I've have many of them with friends on every side of the political spectrum. Radical Centrism — my prescription for recovering a dynamic center to US political life — is based on the notion that we should not eliminate the wildest ideas from any side of the discussion about solutions: ...

July 4, 2018 Update … Fierce Patriotism Still Needed to Defend Our Democracy

Radical Centrism Policy Papers: It's War, Nothing Less - Part 1 Republicans and Democrats to the barricades!! Our republic is under attack by hyper-partisans who would destroy our democracy to win their cause, and a narcissistic President who would use the awesome power of our democratic republic to destroy, or jail his opponents and willingly ...

Can We Just Calm Down for a Minute, and Discuss Sensible Immigration?

Radical Centrism Papers: Immigration IImmigration is a hot-wired topic. Both Democrats and Republicans  — understanding how frequently and baldly the issue has been demagogued — "play to the gallery,"  because, well, immigrants are a powerless constituency, so who gets hurt??? The not-surprising answer is that a few individuals and families get badly hurt, and that ...

Time to Deconstruct Systemic Racism?

It's time to end it.  "But how?" you plead. "Because we are blind. No, not colorblind as we had hoped, but blind to our own prejudice... How can we rise above ... our tribal selves to reclaim our humanity and move forward together as one country?" Well, there are models... Let's be honest: The notion ...

Readers React! So What Would YOU Do to Deconstruct Systemic Racism?

Below is a comment I received on my last post about ending system racism. It seems to require a fairly long response. Love to hear from more readers as well... Please comment below. From Shal: "OK, Pat..You are now on the clock..You are President of the US (not king or emperor, mind you) and you ...

Global Corporations; Global Solutions

Radical Centrism Policy Papers 2   I'm sure my three week absence of posts about politics, history and culture has been devastating to my devoted audience. My deepest apologies to both of you. My darkness of the last few weeks was due to the loss of my closest cousin, Sadie. Our love for each other, fostered ...

We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us…

Radical Centrism Papers: It's War. No Less Pt 3 My last two posts HERE and HERE, about fighting against the breakdowns in our political dialogue and institutional crises in our country have drawn a lot of comment and criticism, especially on Facebook. I have decided to handle that in a "Reader Feedback blog" in my ...

Saving the Republic: Choosing and Winning Our Battles

Radical Centrism Papers: It's War. No Less - Part 2 See my Fierce Patriotism  post from last week for the introduction this three part blog series. The concluding post in the series is scheduled for the end of this week and is called We Have Met The Enemy, and He Is Us. It will be a reflection on how each ...