As we wrap up our month of featuring “All Things Russia,”* we note with due attention, and perhaps a bit foreboding, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Putin the Improviser” (Feb. 20, 2015).
Boldly declaring that “the Ukraine crisis is even scarier than you think”, WSJ reporter Andrew Weiss reports that Western leaders are struggling to “get inside the head of” Mr. Putin in an attempt to understand a man who seems set on “dragging much of the West into a new Cold War.” Read more
It should come as no surprise that President Obama’s “Buzzfeed” video has become a highly politicized issue, used by Republicans and Democrats alike to tout his “charismatic personality” or lambast his seemingly “indifferent attitude” to the world’s problems, depending on which side of the isle you sit on.
That President Obama’s every move is subject to intense scrutiny and debate is not unique to the office of the presidency. Indeed, there is a reason that John Adams once wrote: “No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.”
The unrelenting stress, heightened pressure and merciless criticism a President faces is nearly unimaginable – and certainly takes a toll on the mental and physical state of such men (a quick look at “before” and “after” shots of previous Presidents is a perfect case in point).
Perhaps this is why the office of the presidency is held in such high regard. Having sworn to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”, it is a position of immense responsibility that warrants a great amount of respect, admiration and reverence from the public. Read more
“Love,” Leo Tolstoy once said, “is life.” And love, like life, is multifaceted – it can be both beautiful and tragic in its complexity and mysteriousness.
As we approach this Valentine’s Day, with New England buried in Siberia-like snow, we can’t help but turn to Russia – a country whose complexity and mystery is just as vast and profound as the intricacy of love.
Winston Churchill, in a 1939 radio address, described it best when he said: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma…”
And Fyodor Tyutcheve (1803-1873), one of Russia’s greatest 19th century poets, said: “Russia cannot be understood with the mind alone…” Read more
In the midst of every winter, I eagerly anticipate the excitement and hype that comes from two major sporting events. One, perhaps not surprisingly, is the Super Bowl – in all its splendid, commercialized and global glory – and the other, perhaps less celebrated by the general public, is the Australian Open Tennis Championship – one of the four major Grand Slams that takes place each year in the middle of January.
In the past week, however, the excitement of the Super Bowl has been quickly “deflated” with talk of the Patriot’s latest “cheating” scandal involving their handling of a “deflated” football allegedly used to help them secure their victory over the Indianapolis Colts at the AFC Championship game. Read more
Education. It’s a topic that has always stimulated vigorous debate and yielded staunch opinions from both professional academics and the public at large.
With talk about expanding access to education, improving our educational system and outcomes and, most recently, President Obama’s proposal to offer free community college to students nationwide, it’s an issue that continues to feature prominently in our nation’s dialogue – and for a good reason. Read more
These are but just a sampling of synonyms listed in Doubleday Roget’s Thesaurus under the word “power” – defined in Miriam Webster’s New Collegiate dictionary as, “possession of control, authority, or influence over others.”
Interesting, then, that the CEO of arguably one of the most “powerful” companies in the world – Facebook – has chosen a book entitled The End of Power (March 2013) as the first pick for his new book club that he so fittingly announced on the social networking site earlier this month. Read more
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA where our founders signed the Constitution
In a letter to an orphaned nephew dated December 5, 1790, George Washington wrote: “A good moral character is the first essential in a man…it is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned, but virtuous.”
Similarly, four other of our most prominent founding fathers echoed this sentiment on various occasions, in various forms, from writings in The Federalist Papers to speeches at state ratifying conventions, saying:
Thomas Jefferson: “…never suppose that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing, however slightly so it may appear to you.” Read more
“Spiritual Alzheimer’s disease.” “Existential schizophrenia.” “Terrorism of gossip.” “Pathology of power.” These are the words that so forcefully – and, judged by their reception, perhaps unexpectedly – echoed through the ‘Sala Clementina’ of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, during Pope Francis’ annual Christmas address to the Curia – the Vatican’s administrative apparatus.
Described as one of the “harshest criticisms to date of the Curia” and a “blistering attack on the Vatican bureaucracy,” it was an address that has caused quite a stir in the national and international media alike, as a headline from the Religion News Service so astutely captured: “Pope Francis to Curia: Merry Christmas, you power-hungry hypocrites.”
Intended as it was for the Curia’s assembled members, I think there is some underlying wisdom that laymen – or the general public at large – can take away from the Pope’s message, particularly during the start of a new year. Read more
There is something invigorating that comes from being elevated – from being up high and embracing a view that offers a fresh, new perspective.
Standing atop an Italian hill
Take, for instance, the profound appreciation of nature and beauty that comes from hiking along a ridge of the Maine Coast in the summer, looking out to the Atlantic ocean and world beyond.
Or the captivation and awe that comes from being transported back in time, standing atop one of the Seven Hills of Rome, overlooking “Il Foro Romano,” what was once the epicenter of political and social life in ancient Rome.
Or even the excitement that comes from sitting atop a rooftop bar in New York City overlooking the Empire State building, marveling at the energy, diversity and seemingly endless possibilities that encompass the 13-mile-long island city of Manhattan.
In fact, it was just this view that recently inspired this first posting. I was sitting atop NYC’s largest outdoor rooftop bar, 230 Fifth, sipping a specialty cocktail and listening to one of my brothers recount his dining experience at a tapas restaurant in the East Village that served 22 different types of gin and tonics and the “best deviled eggs” (with fried oysters) he’d ever had. “That is what is so amazing about New York City,” he remarked, “You get to have the best of the best of everything at your fingertips.” Read more
As we wrap up our month of featuring “All Things Russia,”* we note with due attention, and perhaps a bit foreboding, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Putin the Improviser” (Feb. 20, 2015).
