“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 […]
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 […]
What could possibly go wrong? The cobra effect The colonial British overlord in charge of Delhi, India, wanted to rid the area of venomous snakes so he offered a bounty for each cobra killed. Everything has side effects: the medicines we take, the products we use— and an edict about deadly snakes. […]
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 […]
By Tom Peterson “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” we’re told. Don’t waste time re-creating something already created. Someone else has gone through the trouble to invent almost anything we use. We didn’t invent soap, the dog leash or the smart phone or the custom of saying “You’re welcome” when someone thanks us. But […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
