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Practically Idealistic blog
 
The title for this blog originated with use of the term “practical idealist” in this 1996 opinion piece, which asked: “To what kind of work should a practical idealist aspire?” A century and a half earlier, Emerson, in his 1841 essay Circles, wrote: “There are degrees in idealism.  We learn first to play with it academically. . . .  Then we see in the heyday of youth and poetry that it may be true, that it is true in gleams and fragments.  Then, its countenance waxes stern and grand, and we see that it must be true.  It now shows itself ethical and practical.”  John Dewey and Mahatma Gandhi embraced practical idealism in the 20th century, as did UN Secretary General U Thant.  Al Gore invoked it in a 1998 speech. In the context of this blog, the term is meant to convey idealism tempered but not overwhelmed by realism: a search for the ideal on a path guided by common sense.
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Monday, January 20, 2025

MLK Day and Mentoring Month

On the holiday in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and during Mentoring Month, this is to recognize an interview of Erik Clemons--founding leader of ConnCAT and ConnCORP--by Professor Khalilah Brown-Dean, now of Wesleyan University.

The conversation, part of her "Disrupted" series on CT Public, addresses "community, hope, and love."

In earlier years, this blog has evoked MLK's "I have a dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington--in which my father participated--and the theme of mentoring.

9:57 am est 


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