The cavalries charged The Indians fell The cavalries charged The Indians died Oh, the country was young With God on its side — Bob Dylan By Tom Peterson In 1692 Martha Carrier was accused in Salem, Massachusetts, of being a witch. She […]
Archive | world changing
Let your curiosity go wild!
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein By Tom Peterson The “rover” we earthlings sent to explore the next planet over was named through a contest by sixth-grader Clara Ma: Curiosity. But it was seven thousand adults who spent five years to make the mission happen. The $2.5 billion […]
Bold Goals, Audacious Goals
“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace […]
Take on the ogres that block progress
By Tom Peterson Years ago, waiting with my younger son in the elementary school auditorium for the holiday program to begin, I ask what he learned in school that day. “VCCV,” he says. “VCCV? What’s that?” You know, Vowel, Consonant, Consonant, Vowel. He looks at a banner on the auditorium wall that reads […]
Before I Die: How Ideas Spread
By Tom Peterson In 2011 Artist Candy Chang used her creative powers to connect her New Orleans neighbors to their own dreams and to each other. Dealing with depression related to the unexpected death of a loved one caused Chang to reflect on what really matters in life. She turned the side of an abandoned […]
A borrowed IDea for undocumented people
ID Cards in for undocumented people in Forsyth County, NC By Tom Peterson One afternoon last December I found myself in the conference room of a small business in a Hispanic area of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The nine people around the table were heavy into no-nonsense planning. They were an odd […]
Wicked Problems
By Tom Peterson A former teacher, Lily Eskelsen García is now president of the National Education Association. Representing public school teachers, the NEA is the country’s largest labor union. One day she found herself sitting next to a talkative businessman on a plane. He’s telling me where he’s going and what he’s […]
Bones and Butterflies: It’s All Connected
The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone The foot bone’s connected to the heel bone The heel bone’s connected to the ankle bone The ankle bone’s connected to the shin bone… —Dem Bones By Tom Peterson All social issues are connected. And […]
Strategic Partners for Social Change
By Tom Peterson “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”— Charles Darwin Save the Crabs. Then Eat ‘Em! A recent news item gave me reason to cheer: a study found that the Chesapeake Bay dead zones are coming […]
The AIDS Quilt Spotlights Crisis
By Tom Peterson How do you bring your cause to light when it’s invisible? When no one seems to care? These question is asked hundreds of time each day. How is it that these refugees are suffering, that these children are hungry, that this forest is disappearing, that people are dying from […]