The American dream is built on the notion that the U.S. is a meritocracy. Americans believe success in life and business can be earned by anyone willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve it, or so they say. Thus, Americans commonly believe that those who are successful deserve to be so and...
Many commentators have pointed out the hypocrisy of Christian leaders who claim a moral high ground while supporting President Donald Trump. The latest scandal involving an alleged extramarital affair with pornographic film star Stormy Daniels proves no exception. The Christian right that supports Trump has found ways to justify their support of the president, for...
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Earl Simmons, known professionally as “DMX” and “X,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to one year in prison for tax fraud in connection with evading the payment of income taxes in the period from 2010 through 2016. ...
When we first visited the school that is the focus of our forthcoming book, “Navigating Conflict: How Youth Handle Trouble in a High-Poverty School,” back in 1995, students were free to move about campus during lunch and other free periods and a culture of trust prevailed. All that changed during the 1999-2000 school year. That’s...
This sentence begins the best article you will ever read. Chances are you thought that last statement might be sarcasm. Sarcasm, as linguist Robert Gibbs noted, includes “words used to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning of a sentence.” A form of irony, it also tends to be directed...
Day after day, we’re bombarded with so many media messages that rarely do we stop to think about what they’re telling us to think, do or feel. Much has been written about the unrealistic beauty standards women have been held to. Female actresses, models and TV personalities are overwhelmingly thin, which has had a detrimental...
When Americans hear some pundits projecting a “blue wave” in the 2018 midterm elections, they understand that this is a prediction of a big Democratic victory. Blue of course symbolizes the Democratic party, while red represents the GOP. This might seem like a long-standing tradition, but it isn’t. While writing my forthcoming book “On Color,”...
A student movement against gun violence is receiving sustained news coverage and was instrumental in building momentum around the March For Our Lives Rally Saturday March 24 in Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities. Students are using social and news media to build momentum and advocate for legislation in the wake of a Feb. 14...
Donald Trump’s opponents have long been waiting for some sort of scandal to bring him down, and they may think they have finally found it in pornographic film star Stormy Daniels. Daniels alleges she had an extramarital affair with Donald Trump in 2006 and was subsequently paid off by a Trump lawyer to stay silent...
Valentine’s Day tends to make people think about their romantic relationships. Single? Maybe there’s someone you’ve been texting regularly whom you realize you want to ask out on a date. In a relationship? You might start thinking that your current flame is your one and only. But no matter what your relationship status is, if...
