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Practically Idealistic blog
 
The title for this blog originated with use of the term “practical idealist” in this 1996 opinion piece, which asked: “To what kind of work should a practical idealist aspire?” A century and a half earlier, Emerson, in his 1841 essay Circles, wrote: “There are degrees in idealism.  We learn first to play with it academically. . . .  Then we see in the heyday of youth and poetry that it may be true, that it is true in gleams and fragments.  Then, its countenance waxes stern and grand, and we see that it must be true.  It now shows itself ethical and practical.”  John Dewey and Mahatma Gandhi embraced practical idealism in the 20th century, as did UN Secretary General U Thant.  Al Gore invoked it in a 1998 speech. In the context of this blog, the term is meant to convey idealism tempered but not overwhelmed by realism: a search for the ideal on a path guided by common sense.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014

How Holi(days) Can Promote Unity

Anticipating both the Hindu festival Holi and Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, I wrote an opinion article. 

The Times of India then published a modified version.

8:58 am edt 

Saturday, March 15, 2014

MBAs Across America, Update

A March 2013 (March 3) post mentioned MBAs Across America – launched by Casey Gerald, a 2009 Yale graduate, among others.

Now, the New York Times has featured MBAs Across America.

7:32 am edt 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

"Library Innovation" at LiteracyEveryday

“Library Innovation” is the subject of the latest, March 2014 post at LiteracyEveryday.

3:27 pm edt 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

International Women’s Day: “Girl Rising”

Today is International Women's Day.

One related effort is Girl Rising.

7:42 am est 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Encouraging More Blood Donors

Someone named Erin Gentry (possibly with a commercial interest that I do not endorse) forwarded a graphical depiction of blood donors, using Red Cross estimates that about 8 percent of potentially eligible U.S. donors actually give blood each year.

Once it becomes a habit, it is relatively painless to donate blood. I did so last week and encourage others to consider giving blood, which one may do every 56 days.

3:43 pm est 


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