Brad Rourke’s Blog
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Finding Tension
One of the things that gets in the way of making sound collective judgments is that, too often, we avoid facing the tensions inherent in the problems we share. When we sit down to talk about what to do about some community problem, we avoid tensions and indeed we actively seek to remove them when…
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The Pioneers of Courage
Independence Day is my favorite holiday of the year. The day we declared ourselves a free people. Our efforts were imperfect then, our freedom parsimoniously shared, our efforts remained imperfect through the decades, and they are imperfect now. We have much progress to make. But I relish this day, as I meditate on the courage…
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Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do? — New Issue Guide Released by National Issues Forums Institute
I am pleased to announce that the latest NIF issue guide, Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do?, is released today. At the NIFI link, there is also available an “issue advisory” for free download – such advisories are the core “name” and “frame” of the issue in an easy to…
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Report from National Conference on Citizenship on “Civic Deserts”
The National Conference on Citizenship today released a new report, “Civic Deserts: America’s Civic Health Challenges,” by Matthew N. Atwell, John Bridgeland, and Peter Levine. It is an important, and wide-in-scope, analysis of the long decline in a range of civic health indicators across years and decades. To learn of this decline will not be…
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What Should We Do About the Opioid Epidemic? — New Issue Advisory from the National Issues Forums Institute
I am pleased to announce a new “issue advisory” that is available as a free download (or fold-out hard copy) from the National Issues Forums Institute titled What Should We Do About the Opioid Epidemic? I am proud of my role in helping develop this resource. The Kettering Foundation researches and develops issue frameworks like this one…
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Memoir by Andrea Jarrell: I'm the One Who Got Away
As many of my friends know, my wife, Andrea Jarrell, has completed a new memoir, published on September 5, 2017 by She Writes Press. Early reviews of the book, titled, I’m the One Who Got Away, have been hugely positive.
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Rising, Walking, Civic Deserts
A friend tells the story of a time he was seriously injured and ended up in the hospital. He was bedridden for a long time and was going to have to work very hard just to walk again. At one point, his doctors cleared him to try to move around. But they were concerned he…
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Many Ways to Express Citizenship
Many ways to express citizenship, an incomplete list (add your ideas): Read reputable news outlets Examine the sources of news that you come into contact with Read news outlets you disagree with Read LOCAL news outlets Talk with a friend or family member about their views; share yours Attend civic and community meetings Vote Encourage…
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The Apparatus
There is a memorable scene in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series The Newsroom. It is the culmination of an ongoing argument between Jim Harper and Hallie Shea: Harper is a national network TV news producer and Shea is a correspondent-turned-blogger. In the 3rd season episode “Contempt,” Harper and Shea are arguing over whether Shea was right…
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