Japan and the Common Good

Japan and the Common Good

I recently returned from a two-week vacation in Japan, spending most of my time in Tokyo.

Coincidentally, I read a book titled The Common Good by Robert Reich, author and public policy expert who has served in three US administrations.

Did the book prompt new and enlightening ways of seeing Tokyo? Or did Tokyo clarify the themes in the book in a way that couldn’t happen in America? Either way, the timing was serendipitous.

Health care and values; were we wrong?

Bernie Sanders, on a recent visit to Canada, made this point: “…how a country chooses to provide health care… [shows] its core values as a nation.” Then isn't grossly unequal access to health care in the U.S. is a violation of core American values? If Canadians value universal health care as essential to the people’s right to “liberty and security of the person," then wouldn't we also value universal health care as essential to our right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"

Two Million One Hundred Two Thousand Four Hundred(1) Teachable Moments

The concept of “teachable moments” was popularized in the early 1950s in a book on education theory. (I’m sure DeVos has read it.) Fundamentally, it posits that when the timing is right, learning will be possible – or at least easier. It seems the opposite is also important; unless the timing is opportune, learning will not occur – or will be difficult. (That must be why I hated those Saturday morning classes in college.)

The Problem We All (Continue to) Live With

The Problem We All (Continue to) Live With

I cried last Friday, driving home to San Francisco from the South Bay, listening to This American Life’s program called The Problem We All Live With on NPR. I listened again today, walking the dog on a bright sunny Saturday, with the same outcome. The program, narrated by Ira Glass, told the story of a school district near Ferguson, Missouri; you may recognize the town through the death of Michael Brown and the subsequent protests that propelled the #BlackLivesMatter movement onto the national stage.