(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, November 11, 2020)
A few days ago, I participated in a webinar that introduced me to Paul Chappell, a thoughtful peace activist with an extraordinary history. Born in 1980, Chappell grew up in Alabama, the son of an immigrant Korean mother and a violent mixed-race father traumatized […]
This article was written, by invitation, for the FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3 Fall/September 2020.
Poverty is not a new issue and ending it is not a new cause. In his January 1949 inaugural address, President Harry Truman launched the U.S. foreign aid program, then called Point Four, […]
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, October 23, 2020)
A few days ago, I shared with YES! Executive Editor Zenobia Jeffries Warfield an insight that felt both fresh and important: “I’m coming to the conclusion that the United States has never been a democracy.” This insight was sparked by my reflection on the […]
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, July 30, 2020)
Our present course puts humans on track to be among the species that expire in Earth’s ongoing sixth mass extinction. In my conversations with thoughtful people, I am finding increasing acceptance of this horrific premise.
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with climate change, drives home […]
David was invited to contribute to the global discussion among experts and thought leaders from around the world for “Rearticulating the Concept of Human Development” – a collaborative project of the International Science Council and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He submitted this essay, May 13, 2020.
A […]
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, April 23, 2020)
The COVID-19 emergency has exposed our societies’ failure to address the needs of billions of people. Simultaneously, we are witnessing a fundamental truth about human nature: There are those among us eager to exploit the suffering of others for personal gain. We can […]
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, March 18, 2020)
The rapid spread of novel coronavirus has prompted government, business, and civil society to take dramatic action—canceling events large and small, restricting travel, and shutting down major segments of the economy on which nearly all of us depend. It is […]
The imperative to act to create a better world comes with an unprecedented opportunity to envision and create a world in which every person matters and has an opportunity for a dignified and satisfying life.
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, March 12, 2020)
Science warns us that the 2020s […]
My most recent YES! column identified 2020 as the defining year of a defining decade for humanity. The scientific data suggest it is our last opportunity to get in place the necessary measures to meet essential carbon emission reduction targets. This immediate and nonnegotiable imperative for human wellbeing, even survival, is a consequence of profound […]
We are now awakening to the responsibilities that come with our distinctive ability to consciously create our future.
(Commentary originally published by YES! Magazine, January 21, 2020)
In 1962, Rachael Carson warned us, with the publication of Silent Spring, that the indiscriminate use of pesticides was disrupting critical ecosystems and causing […]