Ed
I found a lot of truth in this Wall Street Journal piece as a father of a son with autism. My experiences since we received his diagnosis in 2005 have certainly informed my professional life, especially once I started supervising co-workers. That does not mean it’s been an easy road (my wife, Jen, captured this well in 2014 on our family blog) but there have been many valuable lessons that have sprung from living through it.
The Washington Post explained earlier this week why appeals on social media to change gun laws have had little impact. For those who follow this sphere closely, the themes are familiar: the creation of echo chambers, polarization, lost momentum, etc.
And finally, a moving talk by Katie Hawkins-Gaar about how loss taught her to manage her anxiety and start living again. The talk is personal, but the themes are universal.
Aven
Nothing gives me hope for 2018 like the fact that more than twice as many women are running for office this year than in 2016. While the majority of these women are Democrats, the Republican party is seeing a surge in female candidates as well, which I think might actually be more important. It would be very interesting indeed to see if more women on both sides of the aisle means greater cooperation and a more effective government. I have this feeling it just might.
In other hopeful news, oil giant BP is forecasting peak oil for the first time, mainly due to autonomous electric vehicles and changes in regulations for plastic consumption. All the more reason to ditch your personal self-propelling explosion box and finally start remembering to bring your own bags to the grocery store. We are the ones who drive the demand, so let’s do it.
And finally, I wanted to mention that the gun control advocacy group that I mentioned last week (and volunteer for), Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, has seen an unprecedented 75,000 new members since the Florida shooting. I’d like to think that I helped, even if it was just the teeniest bit, so if anyone read my post last week and was inspired to sign up, thank you!
