Tag Archives: social change

Maslow’s Pyramid versus the Deep/Nanny State

Posted on 8 February 2025 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Earlier this week, I was thinking about the “ACK!” that most of us have been feeling, in regard to Elon Musk’s rampage through the federal agencies. This ACK is closely related to the “why does some billionaire get to have … Continue reading →

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Inside or outside the box?

Posted on 31 October 2024 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Getting dressed for Halloween is a challenge, when one hasn’t planned in advance. I’d been thinking of revisiting my identity as Cecil Featherstone, Professor of Morbid Poetry, who spends the day reciting the various death-themed poems I memorized as a … Continue reading →

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To create “small pockets of flourishing”

Posted on 19 May 2024 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

This month, the Oregon Bach Festival book club’s reading project combines two of my special interests: music and nature writing. We’ve been listening to Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Mass for the Endangered,” which the Oregon Bach Festival is going to perform … Continue reading →

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Complicating the Story of Humanity

Posted on 1 January 2024 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

How did we get to be “civilized”? Here’s the big-picture story most of us have learned. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived in small bands that wandered the land, hunting for meat and fish, and foraging for nuts, … Continue reading →

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Why do we have “human rights”?

Posted on 21 November 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Where did we get the idea that all people, not just those most like ourselves, should have basic, fundamental, “self-evident” rights? The historian Lynn Hunt has a theory – she credits the novelist Samuel Richardson. In her book, Inventing Human … Continue reading →

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Overcoming the temptations of conservatism, with the good people of Cranford

Posted on 12 November 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Even for progressives, being “conservative” is not necessarily a bad thing. A great many of us are conservative in at least some ways. Maybe we don’t like to try new foods, or we have some routines we really don’t want … Continue reading →

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All the “porns”

Posted on 12 February 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

The last time I was in our neighborhood supermarket, I narrowly avoided buying the latest special issue of Good Housekeeping, full of recipes for the Mediterranean diet. Although I was tempted, $13.99 was non-trivial, and I reminded myself that if … Continue reading →

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Why we keep hanging onto the past – and what that costs us

Posted on 10 December 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

For a couple days this week, I found myself highly motivated to hold my head relatively still, so as not to aggravate the massive headache that had wrapped itself relentlessly around it. I needed a fairly mindless way to pass … Continue reading →

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Fighting injustice with fantasy fiction

Posted on 16 November 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

I read a great trilogy this past week, and I’m going to tell you all about it, but bear with me a moment – first I want to share a personal story. My late step-dad, Arnold, was in many respects … Continue reading →

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Fairness and the “R” word

Posted on 16 February 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Last week I shared my concern that efforts to hold the United States accountable for what our society has done to handicap some population groups could lead to some very negative side-effects. That is, our discussions of collective responsibility could … Continue reading →

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