I am not a religious person. Although I grew up in a religious family, I eventually found that religion did not provide the answers to the questions I was asking. For a while, being brash and driven by a sense of arrogance, I pronounced myself an 'atheist' and started blaming all the world’s problems [...]
A few weeks ago, former President Donald Trump, put together a lawsuit aimed at the big three social media giants – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube – claiming censorship and infringement of his First Amendment rights. In an in-depth interview, Constitutional Law expert and Fulbright Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Howard Schweber argued that the [...]
I have now been writing about US politics for well over a year and it is refreshing to write about policy rather than conflict. Below is a brief analysis of Biden's infrastructure bill. I hope you enjoy it. Last week, United States President, Joe Biden, unveiled his $2 trillion ‘infrastructure plan’. Titled “Build Back [...]
The first thing you notice when arriving in Wyoming is that the sky is different. Somehow it seems bigger, deeper and the clouds seem, ‘fluffier’. The second is that the endless landscape that reaches out to the horizon on either side of the highway give me the same sense of wonder when I stare [...]
Political Divisions A recent report by More in Common, an organisation based in the United States, began a large research project into the polarisation of American society – something being experienced by most western democracies. In Australia, the progressive left and conservative right seem intent on conflict over ever political point: climate change, [...]
Democracy is not a once achieved goal - it requires ongoing work by all of us to make sure it works. This includes engagement in both formal politics (often call 'big P' Politics and includes voting) as well as 'small p' politics (the everyday engagement with our communities, neighbourhoods and online involvement such as [...]
This blog was written almost 12 months ago and in that time so much has changed – but the post itself remains relevant so I am re-posting on my new website. I was also surprised at the overwhelming response to my essay discussing the work of the amazing artist, Kathrin Longhurst, and her portrayal of [...]
Someone who has always inspired me is educational philosopher Paolo Freire. One of the reasons is that he argues that as educators, we should experience inner transformations as we work to transform the lives of our students. Freire presents us with the concept of ‘threshold’, which he drew from Martin Heidegger (a complex and flawed [...]
I have just finished reading the autobiography of United States Senator, Professor Elizabeth Warren, titled A Fighting Chance. I am a bit of a fan of Senator Warren ever since I saw her discussing the causes of the Global Financial Crisis all over US television explaining the culpability of the banks and the hollowing [...]
Last week I gave the opening keynote at the 34th International Conference on Innovation, Practice and Research in the Use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education (or ASCILITE) which was hosted by The University of Southern Queensland. The conference was amazing - and I felt truly lucky to be able to indulge myself in the [...]
