By Dave B.

​First of all, I need to say that the inspiration for this article (mini-rant) is NOT a specific person or incident. Instead, it’s a series of events that I have experienced and observed throughout my life. So, if it seems applicable to some individual or situation that you are familiar with, it’s likely because it is a cultural tendency we’ve all experienced and/or been guilty of at some point in our lives. That said:

By Dave B.

​This post started as request from someone that I write about how people can be more pragmatic. It sounded like a good idea, but I try to slow myself down and think things through before committing to a course of action (because that is the exact opposite of what my instincts tell me to do). So, my first action was to find a definition for the word “pragmatic”. Oxford defines it as, “Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations”. I like that definition, so let’s go with it. 

By Dave B.

​In America, the mainstream political spectrum can roughly be divided into thirds: left-leaning (liberal), right-leaning (conservative), and center (moderate). In no way does this capture the entirety of political thought that exists, but it’s a useful way to frame the political dynamics in our country. That said, liberals and conservatives are pretty terrible at communicating with each other, largely because they don’t really care to. Fair enough.