Category Archives: Politics & Elections

Take the Other to Lunch

Written by . Posted on 8 Mar ’11. Filed under Civil Discourse, Media & Culture, Politics & Elections. Tagged , , , , , , . 3 Comments.

  Two days before Thanksgiving I called Al Quie, the former governor of Minnesota, at the recommendation of my colleague Harry Boyte, who suggested I’d see connections in our interests. This was shortly after an epiphany of sorts hit me. I’d come to believe that […]

Bi-Partisan Proof: Rage Rhetoric On Outs

Written by . Posted on 25 Feb ’11. Filed under Academic & Research, Civil Discourse, Humphrey School, Media & Culture, Minneapolis, Politics & Elections. No comments.

Also published in MinnPost A new civility movement is spreading like wildfire in American culture.  Whether it engulfs enough American hearts to change a national mindset riddled by polarized views remains unclear.  But evidence is mounting that now is the time.  Unprecedented discussions are emerging […]

Heart Doc’s Healthcare Solution: Human Connection

Written by . Posted on 3 Jan ’11. Filed under Academic & Research, Healthcare, Human Rights, Politics & Elections, Professional, Social Innovation. No comments.

Robert Frantz MD is one of the most respected cardiologists in the world. In his travels around the globe and his own life and work this past year, he see reasons for despair. But this physician, a caregiver by heart and in work, is also quite clear — miracles are very much possible. Here Dr. Frantz shares his very personal and moving reflections on a critical cure–hope found in unlikely places and people. Excerpts from his stunning New Years letter, below.

How to Prove Democracy Is Possible

Written by . Posted on 11 Nov ’10. Filed under Citizen Movement, Politics & Elections, Populism, Social Organizations. No comments.

  Reprinted from Imagine a New Kind of  Movement Toward to Truly Mature Democracy in MinnPost. The universal sense of cross-partisan anxiety lingering after the recent mid-term elections seems ironic.  Voting served as much a referendum on the increasingly evident dialectic between voter apathy and […]

Who can Take Back the Country? Us.

Written by . Posted on 24 Oct ’10. Filed under Citizens, Politics & Elections, Populism. 1 Comment.

In his essay The Political Pot Boils Over, Hubert H. Humphrey School’s Brian Atwood notes how polarizing political campaigns promise to defend the causes of “The People.” Politicians understand the deep doubt and sense of citizen disempowerment as at the core of populist angst. But candidates’ […]

Critical Question: How can candidates solve Deficits of Thought?

Written by . Posted on 30 May ’10. Filed under Academic & Research, Education Policy, Politics & Elections, Standard Measurements. 4 Comments.

Governer Tim Pawlenty’s appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press provokes partisan passions — and a call for higher order bipartisan thinking if we are to achieve a higher order government.

Pundits calling for real people passions

Written by . Posted on 25 Mar ’10. Filed under Citizen Movement, Civil Discourse, Media & Culture, Politics & Elections, Populism. 1 Comment.

The bad news? Cultural caricatures have become so pervasive that not only politicians but real people have, of late, been living down to destructively low expectations. The good news? The persona of polarized rhetoric is getting an enforced ego-check. This thanks not to media manipulated […]