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American Exceptionalism: Random Male Violence, Part II

By Craig | February 24, 2018 | , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

In my previous post, Random Male Violence, Part I I began to unravel the mystery of why the random violence we regularly encounter happens in the U.S. on a level unlike any other country. Our soul searching requires that we recognize that we are developing wounded males. But all countries have wounded males.

There’s another inescapable reason random mass slaughter happens within American borders so much more than anywhere else— the ease with which anyone, regardless of capabilities, mental health or training can get their hands on assault rifles—weapons of mass destruction. The solution to this issue has proven exceptionally difficult to find, but I don’t think there is any question that this is a central part of the problem.

American Exceptionalism: Random Male Violence, Part II

Our Spirits Groan

By Craig | October 2, 2017 | , , , | 6 Comments

We see the news updates on our phones and can hardly believe what we are seeing. We turn on the TV and shake our heads, wordlessly, stunned at the carnage we once again witness in our broken world.

A morally lost 64 year-old man has killed more 50 and wounded more than 500 attenders of an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. He’d probably never met any of them. The audio of machine gun fire, along with the video of thousands running, crouching, weeping, is almost more than our hearts and minds can handle…

What “No” Doesn’t Mean

By Craig | February 18, 2017 | , , | 0 Comments

It’s taken me quite awhile to learn this lesson. I now know it’s true.

Wisdom from Seth Godin:

What “no” means

I’m too busy
I don’t trust you
This isn’t on my list
My boss won’t let me
I’m afraid of moving this forward
I’m not the person you think I am
I don’t have the resources you think I do
I’m not the kind of person that does things like this
I don’t want to open the door to a long-term engagement
Thinking about this will cause me to think about other things I just don’t want to deal with

What it doesn’t mean:

Will You Wear A Mask This Year?

By Craig | January 6, 2015 | , , , | 1 Comment

So, I was enjoying a cup of coffee and conversation with a friend at Starbucks, when all of a sudden I was staring at Danny Devito and Jack Nicholson. I took a double-take. What in the world are they doing here? But on my third-take, I had a sense that something was wrong. While these […]

Dangerous Play

By Craig | September 1, 2013 | , , , , | 8 Comments

“What did ‘play’ mean for you as a boy? What does it look like now?” Those were the deceptively profound, seemingly innocent, questions posed to me, and a group of men, at a Brotherhood Adventure last week in the Poudre River Canyon, west of Fort Collins, CO. By the end of the conversation I thought, […]

Speaking Truth to Power

By Craig | July 2, 2013 | , , , , | 0 Comments

In 2002 TIME magazine’s Persons of the Year were three women who spoke truth to power: Sherron Watkins, the Enron vice president who wrote a letter to chairman Kenneth Lay warning him that the company’s methods of accounting were improper. Coleen Rowley, the FBI attorney who caused a sensation with a memo to FBI Director […]

When We Encounter Accusations

By Craig | January 18, 2013 | , , | 0 Comments

“Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, ‘My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.’ At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.Then Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!’” Acts 23:1-3 Speak […]