HIPS

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- We need to argue more. Or to be precise; as a society, we need to argue more intelligently. Once upon a time, argumentation was an exchange of evidence and ideas and persuasion by facts and reason in a quest for understanding ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Imagine that you have just been given the opportunity to be published in a well-known journal with worldwide distribution.  The topic you’ve been asked to address is: “What is wrong in the world today?” How would you ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- There’s no crisis that can’t be made worse by someone making a mad grab for control and playing upon the public’s fears. Sometimes we need to be reminded that the proper flow of legitimate political power does not change because someone in authority invokes the word “emergency.” The powers delegated ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Blayne Barber may not be a household name but he deserves to be one. Barber was an aspiring professional golfer who was in the process of completing the PGA’s qualifying school.  While in a bunker, Barber had inadvertently moved a leaf with his club and took a penalty stroke. His caddy ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Do those who are willing to suffer for taking a stand have more credibility than those who are not?  The willingness to be publicly misunderstood, misrepresented or falsely accused is among the most selfless things a person can do. Kn ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- There is a growing need for a return to civility, not just in politics, but also in virtually every area of modern life. Whether it’s demonizing those who hold a different point of view or an angry middle finger salute from a passing motorist, rudeness and contempt for one another appear to be on the increase.  Le ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Ever stop to consider how much politics can drive our daily decisions, if we allow it to do so? For instance, do we only drive a certain type of car because it reflects where we stand? We all know people who will only drive American-made automobiles, or green vehicles, or cars made by manufacturers that never took bailout money or tried to cheat on emissions tests ... R

By Bryan Hyde Thanks to the negative connotation of a cigar-chomping gunslinger, few of us would aspire to be remembered as an outlaw.  But the truth is that not all outlaws are bad guys. What is the right kind of outlaw? Writer Claire Wolfe answered this question several years ago when she described “freedom outlaws.”  She sa ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Would you rather be known for what you stand for or known by what you’re against? Being against something or someone is almost always the path of least resistance. It is depressingly easy to define ourselves by enemy-driven thinking. But ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Our society is currently seeing a growing loss of empathy – the ability to put ourselves in the other guy’s shoes.  A friend once shared an incident from early in his career as a police officer when he was called to a homeless shelter where a parking enforcement officer was preparing to have a man’s van towed away for unpaid parking tickets. The meter maid smile ... Rea