Independence Day a.k.a. Violence Day
In Chicago, eighty-two people were killed celebrating the Fourth of July, our beloved “Independence Day” which seems to be mis-named. It might as well be called “Violence Day” in Chicago. Of the eighty-two shot, sixteen were killed. So far this year, 1, 219 people have been killed in Chicago. Some point out that this is considerably less than last year’s tally…..
In a nation of immigrants, intense argument about the legitimacy of immigration may seem illogical or self-serving. But the question has been given new urgency because of a change in immigration itself. Un-attended children are crossing our southern border with Mexico in record numbers. As of right now (July 7, 2014) 52,000 children were caught since October. All Mexicans were sent home. All others are being held for…..
Hearing the phrase “power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely,” people tend to nod, sagely, in agreement. Everyone knows the quote. Very few know the source of the quote: is it Cicero? Shakespeare? Machiavelli? No. It was Lord Acton, writing a letter,in 1887.
Is the statement actually true? “Corrupt” as an adjective means “utterly broken.” It was first used by Aristotle and later Cicero, who added the ideas of bribery and abandonment of good habits to…..
This is a common dilemma when it comes to smartphone photos. In a second, the decision is made, the moment is past, and the decision has had its result. All very fine, when we are talking about phones.
When I wrote my Master’s thesis, “From Reform to Terrorism: Student Radicalism in the 1960’s,” I knew nothing about guns. I had never held one or fired one. I knew many names such as “Winchester Repeating Rifle” or “Tommy gun,” or…..
In corporate America, there are as many leadership styles as leaders. In my novel “Skyscrapers” I contrasted two CEO’s, both flawed. They shared a number of positive traits: alpha personality, a drive to succeed, an ability to manage a large and complex industry, enough charisma to motivate subordinates, and an ethos which so far had worked for them. At the beginning…..
The title “Skyscrapers” reflects the landscape of Powhaten, the city in which the story takes place. It also reflects the location of the two main characters’ offices. And metaphorically, it reflects the characters’ natures. “The sky’s the limit” could be the motto of both.
Fiction allows such associative overlaps. The name “Powhaten” does, too: for the Indians it mean “place where tribes meet,” but it was also the name of a great leader. Although “Skyscrapers” is about Chicago, I fictionalized…..
