Brad Rourke’s Blog
-
The GOP Needs A Bill Clinton
The Democratic Leadership Council set out as its project to drag the Democratic Party to the right a tad, and it succeeded. Clinton (a DLC leader) was able to reinvigorate the party’s prospects. The Republican Party could do with a similar, serious movement to drag it a bit left.
-
Starting With What's Important
Often, the way I want to package the message is not the way I should package it in order for it to be best heard.
-
Today's Workout: Hurdles, Sandbag Drag
Just finished a terrific work out with my trainer, Grant Hill. I have been working with him for a couple of months now, and it has never ceased to be a delight. Each time, we do something very intense, and very different. Today he had me jumping over hurdles and doing a tuck and roll.…
-
Chasing After Banners
Not because it is election season, I have been thinking about Dante’s Inferno these days. In case you have not read it, the book is a depiction of Hell. It goes into great detail about the various punishments awaiting those who have sinned while they were alive. I would not say that I am a…
-
Time For A Conversation
A good friend writes on Facebook: Now is not the time, but sometime soon, while the searing memories are still fresh, we must have a candid conversation about how we all will live in the new world climate change is bringing to us. After a disaster, there is a defiant urge to remake what was…
-
Creating Values Skeptics: My Latest Column at Ethics Newsline
Students these days continually are bombarded with messages throughout school and extracurricular activities that remind them of what their “core values” ought to be. There are posters in the hallways with acronyms designed to generate pep and morals all at once. There are T-shirts, stickers, decals, pencils, and more — all boasting aspirational lists of…
-
On Hyperpolarization
I was recently asked to respond to the question, “What trends have you been seeing in democracy?” I thought I might share my response more broadly. One of the core experiences when it comes to democracy in the U.S. context is the effect of hyperpolarization. This is a pathology that goes beyond simple ”partisanship” (which…
-
The University of Virginia and The New Transparency: My Latest Column At Ethics Newsline
The announcement was terse. “On behalf of the Board of Visitors, we are writing to tell you that the Board and President Teresa Sullivan today mutually agreed that she will step down as president of the University of Virginia effective August 15, 2012.” Later in the announcement, a statement from President Sullivan referred to “a…
-
Only Divided Because We Think We Are: My Latest Column At Ethics Newsline
As some know, I have begun a monthly column published at Ethics Newsline, the flagship publication for the Institute for Global Ethics and one which I helped develop when I worked at that organization. This month’s column is about recent research that sheds light on just how divided we are — in public vs. in private life. Only…
Brad Rourke 