I don’t wake up thinking about my skin color. It isn’t part of my self-understanding, it doesn’t guide how I move through the world, and it certainly isn’t the foundation of my identity. My family came from the hills of Kentucky. That means something to me… the stubbornness, the loyalty, the humor, the small-town grit, […]
“Just an Old White Guy” Read More »
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned in life is that reassessing your beliefs is not the same thing as caving to pressure. It’s not cowardice. It’s not compromise; it’s growth. Throughout life, we should be constantly examining our positions and our direction. We move toward a value we believe in, and often that value
Beyond Symbols: Living by Values, Not Flags Read More »
I’ve spent much of my life teaching, counseling, and raising kids of my own, and one thing I keep noticing is how often the best of our intentions lead us in the wrong direction. We step in to protect or advocate, certain that we’re doing the right thing, only to realize later that our “help”
When Helping Hurts Read More »
When I think about what really holds a family, a community, even a society together, I always come back to values. Not the cultural signals that come and go with the times, but the steady truths that endure across centuries. Take honesty. No society admires deceit as a virtue. The same goes for kindness, generosity,
When Values Outlast Identity Read More »
When I first started as a Child Protective Investigator in Arizona in the early 1990s, cultural competency training was still in its infancy. I went into those sessions eager to learn. I wanted to be responsive, respectful, and effective in my work. But what I encountered was something very different from what I had hoped
Cultural Competence or Cultural Stereotyping? Read More »