Author: Andrew Taggart

• March 2, 2011

  You can’t be anything you want to be

  Challenges to Common Sense 1. “You can be anything you want to be.” I think genes might beg to differ. 2. “All you need is love.” Unfortunately, love doesn’t buy bread. (Love is somewhere down the line.) 3. “Practice random acts of kindness.” Better: consistent acts of mindful kindness. 4. “Follow your dreams.” Or you could…
• March 1, 2011

  On playing things by ear

  I’m not very good at playing things by ear. I like to have my ducks in a row, my affairs in order, my kingdom neat and tidy, my shoulders squared. I don’t know how to say “wait and see,” “let’s check back later on this week,” “perhaps next month.” Pin things down, and I am…
• February 28, 2011

  On radical politics

  Here’s my essay entitled, “Radical Leftist Politics, What Have You Done for Us Lately?” at New Public Thinking. I welcome your thoughts, queries, and criticisms–but please make them at New Public Thinking.
• February 27, 2011

  On the art of letting go

  A Sunday Meditation I do not let go of things easily. I hold on to them for far too long. I need to learn how to let go. 1. Letting go is also a letting in. 2. Death does not always beget life, but life can come as a surprise. 3. When certain pursuits dry up,…
• February 26, 2011

  On new public thinking

  I’m now working with a wonderful group of eclectic, brilliant Life of the Minders at New Public Thinking, a loose organization devoted to the question: “What will public discourse and the public sphere look like–what should they look like–in the 21st C.?” Please have a look around. Start with my friend Dougald’s fine manifesto.