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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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Friday, February 14, 2025

"From Congo to Connecticut, a Crisis--and Hope"

A Yale advisee, Jeannot Basima, and I co-authored an opinion piece (also on Medium) about his hometown of Goma, Congo--with references to international humanitarian organizations and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Jeannot, a sophomore studying political science and a member of Yale's varsity basketball team, is developing a nonprofit--fiscally sponsored by Dwight Hall at Yale--to support youth development in Goma.

In September 2024, Jeannot and I jointly presented at a Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance forum. Jeannot's portion of the program is on YouTube here, while my portion is excerpted on Connecticut CASA's YouTube channel.

7:10 pm est 


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