THE RUN-UP YARDSTICK AMERICAN INSIGHTS FROM 1917, 1941, AND THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS OF 2022 This document supplements my Facebook Live show that I broadcast during the week of March 14, 2022. I shared in the show those aspects of American entry into World War I (April 1917) and World War II (December 1941) that struck me as useful in 2022 as the Ukrainian crisis continues to unfold as a potential … [Read more...]
March 22, 2022 by
February 28, 2022 by
Depending on when you're reading this, POTUS 46 will either be delivering the speech on Tuesday, March 1 or has already done so. Regardless, I'd like to share briefly three examples to help you gauge and measure our current moment under broadly similar conditions. The examples fit around a set of criteria. 1) a major European war is happening; 2) Americans know it, with a meaningful percentage … [Read more...]
February 7, 2022 by
February 7 of Year Three of the pandemics of 2022 and 1920. Hard in the center and soft everywhere else. That's my assessment of the Washington Post article from yesterday that's now circulating today across the nation. The article is about the importance of knowing the parallel dates of early February in 2022 and 1920. Yes, at the center of the point is a hard fact—the cursed illness is … [Read more...]
February 2, 2022 by
It's the 23s all around. 23rd month for our pandemic of 2020-2022. 23rd month for your ancestors' pandemic of 1918-1920. Today I begin my early-morning scan of "the news." The very phrase is scary these days. I'm never quite sure if it's my version of the carnival barker, the town crier, or various chicken bones and frog toes arranged in a particular pattern. Whatever it is today, I plunge … [Read more...]
January 27, 2022 by
Regardless of where you are with the pandemic today, one point we can agree on is the difficulty it's presented to the American people. Think about your view of and attitude toward the pandemic, whatever your stance on the topic. You could agree that "difficult" describes it. Think also about people who disagree with you. Somewhere along the line you'll encounter the word "difficult" or you'll … [Read more...]
January 25, 2022 by
1918 Influenza Pandemic Day 504 You read it right--504th day of the pandemic. But it's not ours in 2022 but theirs, or rather your family's at that point, in 1920, a half-thousand days into the influenza pandemic. Let's match your family's life then to you and your family's life now. Warnings: I want you to be sitting down when you read this. Also, put away any light, throwable objects that … [Read more...]
January 25, 2022 by
Sr. and Jr. The distinction between them can be as vast as the universe. That's not a bad thing, just a real thing. I thought I'd share a short but true story with you about the gap. To start, full disclosure: I'm not a Kennedy guy. Still, I can appreciate without being a supporter. Moreover, I know something about speeches, leadership, communication, crisis, and the millions of stories on … [Read more...]
January 20, 2022 by
What number of people can destroy a world? One answer is 15. It is today, January 20, in 1942, that 15 men gather around a large table and in two hours agree on a plan to kill every Jewish man, woman, and child they can find, wielding all the powers a nation-state can give them. The journal of one of the participants survives, allowing us to know this. The 15 were various German … [Read more...]
January 17, 2022 by
Today, in 2022, we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Today in 1968 he is still alive and unaware of the future to come. Also today in 1968 the city that will be the scene of shocking silence on the night of his death is equally unaware of the future to come. I've written a short book about six leaders who lived their lives on the night that King lost his. These six people share three things--they are … [Read more...]
November 2, 2021 by
The past makes sounds in history. These sounds rhyme. Yes. These sounds repeat. No, no, and no. Today, across the 102 years spanning 2021 and 1919, we'll hear two rhymes of pandemic. I want you to remember the pair of rhymes as you move from this year now (the present) to this year next (the future). Please follow below for just a few minutes as I guide you through image and text. ...the … [Read more...]
