A Promised Land

America as a Developing Country

Ten Positive Points About American Democracy and What the World Can Teach Us

Some Thoughts on Vipers, Strongmen, Patience and Small Steps

What must she be thinking…

We can’t view the news these days without finding fuel for despair. Nonetheless, I’d like to draw on my nearly forty years of advising on foreign aid for democracy, the rule of law and human rights around the world to offer ten positive points about American democracy in these troubled times.

These thoughts are not predictions. I see all sorts of reasons to see a dark future. But I don’t see how giving up does us any good.

1. We’re comparatively fortunate. Yes, really. As I sketch below, foreign societies burdened by poverty, poor education, repression and histories far worse than ours have overcome more daunting circumstances to launch, protect or restore democracy. If they can overcome, so can we.

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We’re Not Alone: MLK’s Dream, Not the Trump Nightmare, Should Define January 20

Dr. King Saw the Civil Rights Movement as Part of a Global Struggle. That Means Even More Today.

So, Inauguration Day is here. Our president is a racist, rapist, insurrectionist and narcissist, as well as a corrupt, convicted crook – to put it mildly. But to get through today’s dismay, and to take heart for the next four years, it’s far better to make January 20 about the other event it commemorates: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This includes learning from Dr. King’s under-appreciated dream about how the fight for freedom in America relates to similar struggles abroad, in stark contrast with Trump’s nightmarish outlook.

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In the Name of Love: MLK Day Matters More Than Ever at Home and Abroad

Nonviolence over brutishness, inspiration over resignation, love over hate.

Monday marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Preaching nonviolence over brutishness, inspiration over resignation, love over hate, his message rings truer than ever as we tread into 2024. I’m marking it here by sharing videos featuring a remarkable rock song and an even more powerful speech.

One lesser known aspect of MLK’s work was its international dimension. Traveling to India in 1959, he wrote that “India’s [Mahatma] Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of nonviolent social change.” He further linked “the Christian doctrine of love” to the Hindu leader’s words and actions.

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Happy New Year! From Vaccines to Homicides to Poland to Brazil to America to Cats…Good News

Yes. Even in America. And even cats.

These are not the best of times, to put it mildly. But it’s important to see the rays of hope piercing the doom and gloom. They illuminate the fact that America and the world can recover, that we’re not trapped in an irreversible downward spiral. Instances of progress across the globe remind us that what once seemed lost can still be found.

For example, from increasing global vaccine availability to positive health developments in Mexico and Bangladesh to improved animal welfare practices to a record drop in U.S. murders to a host of other beacons, some significant changes made aspects of this world better in 2023.

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“We Got the Bas***d!”

Trump Loses. Women and Justice Win.

Shortly after arriving in the Philippines in 1987, a year after the peaceful uprising known as People Power deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos, I attended a Manila meeting of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations. I recall the discussion somehow turning to the former strongman. Reflecting on both People Power and the longer-term, unflinching opposition that fueled his fall, the PCFR chair declared, “We got the bas***d!”

From Manila to Manhattan

The same sentiments cross my mind as I reflect on the results of E. Jean Carroll’s case against Donald Trump. In the legal equivalent of a New York minute – less than three hours of deliberations – a Manhattan jury held him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

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