Citizen Writers Fighting Censorship by Helping Americans Understand Issues Affecting the Republic.
Abstract: During my doctorate in Leadership and Learning in Organizations at Vanderbilt, there were a few readings and discussions over whether there is even such a thing as a “leader” or “leadership”. This is related to the discussion over whether leaders are born—they have innate characteristics and capabilities—or made—they are developed, trained and educated. The …
I frequently see cars with the “Coexist” bumper sticker. When I see them, I often wonder about the person who put the bumper sticker on their car. Why? Are they true believers or virtue signalers? When situations get complicated like that of Israel and Hamas, how will they act? This article, part 1 of 5, provides an introduction and frames the issues.
Three years after the US’s catastrophic run from Afghanistan, most Americans have no clue what happened. No one has stood up and taken responsibility. Five years after the killings that triggered Black Lives Matter (BLM) most Americans do not really understand what happened and the surrounding circumstances. Even more recently, most of us do not …
Deterrence and the Interagency Process, Part 1: Deterrence I came across an interesting article on LinkedIn on deterrence and how the military should be in control of it. I started a comment and midway through; I opened another browser tab to a quick search. When I got back to LinkedIn, my comments and the original …
Critical Thinking and International Relations Theory After the Colonial era, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the First Gulf War, many analysts proclaimed the world was getting safer and humanity was changing for the better. Francis Fukuyama argued this point. Samuel Huntington took a different perspective and argued a clash of civilizations would keep …
Critical Thinking and Policy: The Wars on Drugs and Poverty In an effective government, the first rule of policy is to set goals and the implementing processes to accomplish them. Politicians and the bureaucracy, however, run the government. The first rule of politicians is to get re-elected. The first rule of bureaucrats is to perpetuate …
Virginia Board of Education: Transgender Policy Part 1 This blog builds on Critical Thinking and Policy Development and Analysis, Critical Thinking: Logic and Rationality, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Key Components and Dimensions, Critical Thinking: Bounded Rationality and Time, Critical Thinking: Credence and Veracity, and A Solutions-Based Approach to Social Justice. These help look at …
Critical Thinking: Credence and Veracity Critical Thinking and Policy Development and Analysis introduced the concepts of credence and veracity and said they were two sides of the same coin. The coin’s value depends on its credence and veracity. The figure above aligns credence with the messenger and veracity with the message. It also adds …
Critical Thinking and Policy Development and Analysis This blog builds upon Part 4: Policy Development. It is the opening part of a series on critical thinking and policy development and analysis. It provides the framework, as shown in the opening figure, for policy development and analysis. Following parts will use this framework to assess some …
Critical Thinking: Decisions and System1 System2 Thinking Figure 1 Integrated System 1 and System 2 Approach Daniel Kahneman identified System 1 and System 2 as two different ways to think through issues and solve problems. System 1 is quick and intuitive. System 2 is slower and process knowledge driven. Good teams fuse the two …
Critical Thinking: Bounded Rationality and Time Time is one component of bounded rationality. The Bounded Rationality Model (see the introduction to this series) includes cognitive limitations and information/knowledge quality. Severe time constraints can drive a decision to System 1 approaches, with the decision based on assumptions, heuristics, and intuition. Some organizations “punt” and refuse to …
Critical Thinking: Introduction to Key Components and Dimensions This series will address the components and dimensions of the figure above. The first installment summarizes the critical thinking framework. Subsequent installments will look at the components and dimensions in greater detail. This is an important and complex topic. The environment in which our government and corporations …
Bread and Circuses: Largesse Favors the Timid If Fortune favors the bold, largess favors the timid. Largesse allows people to settle for less to avoid work, inhibits risk-taking, and dampens the drive to grow and to thrive. The bread and circuses approach to governance distracts a people of low virtue into a stupor where they …
Virtue, Wherefore Art Thou? The rise of Christianity buried pagan philosophy for centuries as Christianity took control of all aspects of western life. But in 1649, the Treaty of Westphalia broke Christianity’s stranglehold on western life. The treaty ended the brutally destructive Thirty Years’ War, which pit Protestants against Catholics and tore Germany and other …
The cardinal virtues and courtesy are essential for a healthy society and the formulation of policies and programs that solve problems rather than creating new ones.
The mind is a funny thing and what we bring into our thoughts shapes them and either reinforces prejudice and bias or cleanses them. If we want to avoid the two graves of revenge, we need clear, critical thinking.