Jodi BarnesPhoto by Jodi Barnes Shaming and blaming are draining. They only gain us wider divides. Pretend we could put politics aside. (I know, just stay with me here.) Is it possible that Americans agree on anything? I think so. Even in a country that agrees we are living in an era of extreme political polarization, so extreme […]
Photo by Ali Müftüoğulları on Unsplash First, relinquish your role as Manager of the Universe David called to say he and his wife were back from visiting our daughter and her family over the MLK weekend. Technically, David is my ex-husband; more accurately, he is my friend. There was once a time when our true friendship, post […]
Photo by RaeAnna Stephens, with permission an open letter from grandmother to granddaughter Hello there, self of 1975: 1. You are lucky to be here. Sure, you’ve been through some sad stuff already. Money’s scarce. Your parents have a lot of flaws, but they love you. Not always the way you want them to. They’ll […]
Photo by Jonathan Harrison on Unsplash Why multiple perspectives, identities, and stories are worth fighting for As I tuned into a podcast conversation between Elif Shafak and Chris Anderson, founder of TED, I was admittedly distracted. Until I tuned in. After some years of studying, teaching, and working on ways to live with and learn from conflict […]
Jodi Barnes 