by Charles Watts | Nov 8, 2020 | Mutual Responsibility, Progressive Markets
Empathy, the soul of democracy, barely won the 2020 presidential elections. And caring citizens breathe easier. Meanwhile, in my county/state, Clinton/Ohio, empathy LOST. Empathy lost by 60% in my county and 8 % in my state. America has elected her 1st black woman in...
by Charles Watts | Sep 26, 2020 | Mutual Responsibility, Progressive Markets
Comments on the Appointment of 3M VP Gayle Schueller to UN Global Compact USA Network Board The Empathy Surplus Project has been a participant of the UN Global Compact since March 2014. The UN Global Compact is organized around networks, defined as the country in...
by Charles Watts | May 25, 2020 | Mutual Responsibility
Memorial Day is a celebration of nurturant parent morality for which many progressives died. This photo is from a New York Times op-ed piece by historian David Blight, May 29, 2011. It depicts the first Decoration Day parade in 1865 of 10,000 freed slaves around the...
by Charles Watts | Oct 12, 2019 | Mutual Responsibility
Reframing IS social change. Building an empathy surplus in YOUR world begins with you changing your language. The Four Empathic Activities of a Caring Citizen Leader all start with the letter “I.” I INWARDLY digest and use the work of George Lakoff to frame caring...
by Charles Watts | Sep 21, 2019 | Mutual Responsibility
Linguistic Guidelines From Don’t Think of an Elephant 1. Progressive values are the best of American values we share with nations around the world. Stand up for your values with dignity and strength. You are a true patriot because of your values. 2. Remember that...
by Charles Watts | Sep 20, 2019 | Better Futures, Mutual Responsibility
Effective caring citizens use five sets of three values repeatedly in their conversations, their letters to the editor, in their blog posts, etc. Why? Because there are two very important cognitive and linguistic tools Dr. Lakoff encourages: (1) Say what you want...
by Charles Watts | Sep 20, 2019 | Mutual Responsibility
Linguistic Guidelines From Don’t Think of an Elephant Our sometime advisor, George Lakoff, laid out in both editions of Don’t Think of an Elephant, linguistic guidelines that members of a Caring Citizens’ Congress strive to use everyday. The guidelines...
by Charles Watts | Sep 20, 2019 | Effective Government, Mutual Responsibility
Caring citizens have a high calling recognized in our Declaration of Independence and the words of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Freedom over slavery and well-being over corporate servitude are the order of the day. Our crisis is not...
by Charles Watts | Sep 20, 2019 | Mutual Responsibility
Government of, by, and for the people must be the guiding principle that progressives lead with when discussing ANY and ALL of our favorite issues. Empathy is democracy’s soul. ALL of our issues emerge from this principle. “Of the people” means the same kind of people...
by Charles Watts | Sep 3, 2019 | Better Futures
Experts help us know our values and reframe the debate. Our #1 priority is to promote the application of the insights of the cognitive scientist and linguistic expert, Dr. George Lakoff. Our communities of practice, neighborhood Empathy Surplus Congresses, are...
