Civility and manners
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Election season
“It doesn’t matter what you say you believe — it only matters what you do.” ~Robert Fulghum As if Halloween weren’t scary enough, election season is in full swing. Our mail-in ballots arrived and lawn signs are sprouting everywhere. Politicians are making promises, right and left, and I’ve been studying the issues to make sure I’m making educated choices. I’ve never trusted folks — not just politicians — who tell me what they think I want to hear. So, right now I’m asking a lot of questions. What issues are most important to my community as a whole — not just to me? How much experience do the candidates have?…
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Emerson’s golden rule
“As we are, so we do; and as we do, so is it done to us. We are the builders of our fortunes.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson is one of my heroes. A champion of self-reliance, this American essayist and lecturer had little sympathy for those who blamed their problems on other people or outside circumstances. He was ordained as a Unitarian minister in Boston in 1829, so it’s not surprising to hear echoes of the Golden Rule in today’s quote. (“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” ~Matthew 7:12.) Emerson believed that personal responsibility is empowering. When we hold ourselves accountable for our…
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The gift of gab: How to improve our conversation skills
“We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.” ~Sherry Turkle Have our listening skills gotten a bit rusty? With the winter holidays fast approaching, it’s the ideal time for a refresher course in two-way conversation skills. Are you exhausted by folks who talk too much about themselves, or won’t let you get a word in edgewise? That’s the topic of this lifestyles feature in the Homefront section of The Sunday Oakland Press and Macomb Daily. (You can read it online here.) ~Cindy La Ferle
