I’ve noticed that a reassuring phrase that’s going around lately is “American exceptionalism.” At a time when 65% of Americans tell pollsters that this country is on the decline, and more than that believe that we are headed in the wrong direction, one hope is that the U.S. can be exceptional in the future as it was in the past. There are signs that feeling exceptional has led to complacency. America has gone for no. 1 in the world for the number of students who graduate from college to no. 9, and amidst cries about the failure of our education system, we get the news that children in Shanghai are performing in basic skills better than expected. The trends seem to favor a downward slide here and an upward march there. Even in areas where one would assume that the U.S. is dominant, such as innovation and technology, we are in the middle of the pack, and our digital infrastructure lags behind, which makes no sense given that the U.S. invented the Internet. (more…)

Winter Solstice with Deepak, Wangari Maathai (Nobel Laureate and Author of Replenishing the Earth); and Azriel Cohen (artist) at Deepak Home Base:

expanding the conversation. interactive salon.
studio, laboratory. connectivity. transparency.
science. creatives. leaders. luminaries. futurists.
consciousness. well-being. healing
global exchange of ideas.
tv, podcasts, mobile, web, radio. (more…)

Russell hosts Deepak and many of his friends at  the charity event, Art for Life, which focuses on children and healing. Check out: Running Russell on Oxygen at 10pm tonight

Sometimes it helps to step back and view a whole nation as if it was a person. Right now we are told that America is in crisis, and solutions are being offered from every quarter. When a person is in crisis, the search for a solution runs into conflict and confusion. The worst scenarios run through one’s imagination. Reason wars with emotion. We see the same in America today. The impulse to throw reason out the window is expressed through Sarah Palin, who makes a very nice living, thank you very much, by throwing tantrums in public. The impulse to blame somebody, anybody is expressed through the Tea Party. The cool-headed police officer or firefighter who comes to your house to handle an emergency is expressed through President Obama. As for Congress, it expresses the country’s refusal to accept that a crisis exists, since for all its hot air, Congress is dedicated to doing the same thing it has always done. (more…)