by Shanon Brooks Once upon a time and in a land not so far away, there were a people who willingly made personal economic decisions beyond their income capacity. They borrowed money from lenders for cars, clothes, vacations, homes far beyond their ability to maintain payments. They borrowed money to pay for all sorts of luxury items without … [Read more...]
Groupthink and Crimes of Opinion
by Bryan Hyde The Age of Political Correctness The beauty of totalitarian concepts like groupthink and crimes of opinion is that everyone is a potential thought criminal in need of sensitivity training. For instance, when a student at Alta High School jokingly donned a white pillowcase with eye-holes during a school pep assembly last spring, a … [Read more...]
Be Hardy!
By Kevin Mogavero The war hero Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete who joined the Armed Forces during WWII. To make a long and impressive story short, Zamperini just didn’t like to back away from a challenge. The outcome wasn’t as important as the value he would gain from the challenge itself. Zamperini was lost at sea in a life-raft with 2 … [Read more...]
A Wisdom Society
By Oliver DeMille “A powerful tide is surging across much of the world today, creating a new, often bizarre environment in which to work, play, marry, raise children, or retire. In this bewildering context, businessmen swim against highly erratic economic currents; politicians see their ratings bob wildly up and down.Value systems splinter and … [Read more...]
Replacing Subtle Lies With the Elusive Obvious
By Garrett Gunderson Blatant lies are easy to recognize and avoid; the subtle lies can ultimately be more destructive because they are much more difficult to detect and uproot. Subtle lies seem to make sense and to carry a certain air of credibility. They are often supported by supposed proof and factual evidence that spread and perpetuate … [Read more...]
Transcending the Ego
By Steve D'Annunzio Devotion to the ego-self is an addiction to one’s own thoughts. Devotion to the God-Self comes down to a commitment to witness your thoughts without taking them personally. Normal thoughts are often chaotic and destructive, while spiritual awareness is creative and empowering. You cannot become love as long as you are more … [Read more...]
Would You Rather Be Safe or Free?
By Bryan Hyde With another renewal of the PATRIOT Act recently, it's clear that the debate still centers over whether the act goes too far or doesn't go far enough to protect against terrorism. A better question would be: Is the proper role of government to keep us safe or to keep us free? At stake is whether national security--namely … [Read more...]
The More You Know: Avoiding Cynicism
By Chris Brady She wasn't exactly keeping up with me. I turned, amidst the crowd, to discern why. A moment's glance contained the explanation: she was trying to walk on the tiles of a certain color while dodging the rest. "Do it with me, daddy!" she gushed. And I couldn't help but comply. It didn't matter that we were surrounded by a hundred … [Read more...]
The Great Political Issue of Our Time
By Oliver DeMille 1913 was a banner year for the United States. During this year the 16th and 17th Amendments were passed and the Federal Reserve was created. Students of American freedom have long debated about the damaging effects of these three occurrences. The year 1913 also marks the modern start of a long trend of increased spending … [Read more...]
The Leader’s 5-Step Guide to Conflict Resolution
By Orrin Woodward Over the years, I have, through reading books and studying great leaders, developed a five step pattern to resolve conflict. Conflict will occur, whether its addressed and resolved, or not addressed and festering is up to the leaders in the community. I know of no other process that leaders can apply to their communities … [Read more...]