By: Scott Dickie on January 11, 2024
On several different occasions I had to remind myself that Yascha Mounk, author of The Identity Trap (1), was a self-identifying progressive and he was seeking to expose ineffective strategies to address real and important issues like racism, inequality, and free speech. At times, I found myself ‘reacting’ to some of his statements which struck…
By: Jenny Dooley on January 11, 2024
The Identity Trap: A story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, by Yascha Mounk, offered a clear perspective on the discord and polarization I encountered when I returned to the USA in 2014. Something had drastically changed over the years that I could not put my finger on and left me fearful of speaking…
By: Esther Edwards on January 10, 2024
I entered high school in the late 70s with much apprehension and excitement as most teenagers do. A new high school had been built and my class would be the first class to attend all four years. You see, Cumberland Regional High School was beautifully designed with the hopes of bringing greater relief to the…
By: Cathy Glei on January 10, 2024
“. . . identity synthesis may likely lead to a society that fundamentally violates his most fundamental values and his most ardent aspirations for the future. The lure that attracts so many people to the identity synthesis is a desire to overcome persistent injustices and create a society of genuine equals but the likely outcome…
By: Pam Lau on January 9, 2024
It was September 2020 when my friend, Adrienne, asked me to go public with our friendship. She wanted to know if we could work out some of our current difficulties in front of others on my podcast and in a workshop. Valuing her friendship more than my comfort zone, I agreed and we recorded an…
By: Russell Chun on January 9, 2024
Вас звільнили! & Велике пробудження, Your fired! & the Great Awokening Vas zvilʹnyly! & Velyke probudzhennya Introduction Part 1 – What my peers are saying. Part 2 – What others are saying Part 3 – What I learned. Epilogue: Meanwhile back at the ranch (in Colorado). Introduction – At our Christmas meal 2023, one of…
By: Kim Sanford on January 8, 2024
I first encountered the idea of Identity Politics in the Fall of 2023 when we read Francis Fukuyama’s book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. At the time, the concept of Identity Politics left me with a kind of hopeless feeling. That’s not to say that I saw no good in…
By: Tim Clark on January 8, 2024
The United States faced a political and cultural powder keg in 2020. One match that lit a national fuse was the viral video that showed the brutal arrest and death of George Floyd. In many places, racial tension that had been simmering for years instantly boiled over. Los Angeles was one of those places. John…
By: Travis Vaughn on January 8, 2024
In The Identity Trap[1] Yascha Mounk provides an alternative to what he calls “the identity synthesis.”[2] His alternative is liberalism[3], grounded in a philosophy that “humans are driven by their capability to make common cause with people who have different beliefs and origins rather than their membership in specific groups.”[4] Mounk argues for “universal values…
By: John Fehlen on January 8, 2024
My name is John. I identify as a white, straight, upper class, middle-aged male. Therefore, I will just shut up now. Of course, I jest. I’m just kidding. But, I do have to be honest: over the last handful of years I have more than occasionally felt like I just need…
By: Kally Elliott on January 8, 2024
Grief is complicated. There is an illustration of grief that looks like a giant ball of tangled string: one way in, a thousand tangles and loops, and finally, a way out. Years ago, someone I loved hurt me deeply. I was in great emotional pain but instead of feeling sad, I felt MAD. I was…
By: Jennifer Vernam on January 1, 2024
In his book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time[1], Yascha Mounk outlines his belief that to right the wrongs of injustices, society has over-swung the pendulum in the opposite direction and in the process, has abdicated many of the liberal foundations that served as building blocks for modern-day democracy.…
By: Dinka Utomo on December 7, 2023
Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance. They’re the sign of an amateur. The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. -Steven Pressfield- A piece of advice was given to me by one of the lecturers where I studied theology. The advice reads, “the best written work…
By: Jana Dluehosh on December 7, 2023
Resistance, professionalism, and the Muse are main themes in Steven Pressfields the War of Art: Break through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. Pressfield takes a very easy way of writing to walk us through his own experience of resistance and how to press through this through professionalism and embracing the mystical idea…
By: Adam Harris on December 7, 2023
Recently, I watched a clip of Rick Rubin, named “One of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” by Time magazine, discussing his philosophy and approach to art as well as his creative process. If you’re not familiar with Rick Rubin (not Santa Claus) you have probably heard some of the artists he…
By: Mathieu Yuill on December 7, 2023
When I was younger, I thought of myself as an artist. I loved drawing and writing, spending my summers at art camps and evenings in art classes. My high school was even focused on the arts. But around the age of 16, I started to see things differently. I got into photography and wrote for…
By: Todd E Henley on December 7, 2023
In her book, Jump, Kim Perell talks about what to do with our fears and challenges in life. She says, “Instead of letting it paralyze you, let it catalyze you.”1 In other words whatever has the power to cause resistance in your life, use it to give you insight, wisdom, direction, passion, fire in your…
By: Russell Chun on December 7, 2023
Опір даремний, Opir daremnyy, Resistance is Futile (Ukrainian) Part 1 – What my Peers are saying. Part 2 – What Others are Saying Part 3 – What I learned from Word of Art Part 4 – Epilogue Steven Pressfield’s War of Art [1]provided a welcomed message for the cohort struggling to finish papers and live…
By: Pam Lau on December 7, 2023
At this strange time in the world in which we are marching towards a New Year, it is a comfort to look back at this semester at the words we have read, the questions we have asked and the prayers we have prayed. After writing three papers and 11 blogs this year (not counting outside…
By: Cathy Glei on December 6, 2023
“Any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lover. Any of these will elicit Resistance.” [1] I couldn’t have ended my semester in a better way than to read a book about the enemy of creativity.…
