Josiah H. Brown

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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Thursday, January 22, 2026

January Is Mentoring Month

One of the opinion pieces of mine that the Connecticut Mirror has published over the years is a discussion of "the mentoring circle"--with reference to a young man (Travis J. Bristol) who was my mentee before, two decades later, becoming an Advisor to Connecticut CASA.

Madeline Papcun of the Connecticut Mirror profiled me in 2023 as part of a series of features on viewpoints contributors to the Mirror.

9:56 pm est

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Student Athletes in Action--for Their Community

The New Haven Independent published my brief write-up about the Wilbur Cross HS boys basketball team's community service activity, volunteering at a local food pantry.

This is the first of multiple such activities planned for this season, by Head Coach Kevin Walton and the team.

(I am a parent of one of the team's players, a senior co-captain.)

1:20 pm est

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