HIPS

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- Anyone who brags about having no enemies is most likely a person who is having very little impact on the world. No one likes to be attacked, smeared or disparaged, yet the greatest measure of the kind of impact we’re having can be found in the opposition we face. Elb ...

By Bryan Hyde COMMENTARY -- For much of human history, knowledge was very difficult to obtain. Most people spent the great bulk of their lives simply working to survive. Education was reserved for the elite. The Industrial Age ushered in schooling for the masses, but it wasn’t until just a few generations ago that higher learning became a possibility for almost everyone.  Ev ...

By Bryan Hyde Commentary -- The past couple of years have provided many examples of what dissent looks like. As may be expected, it can take many different forms -- not all of them pleasing to everyone. As much as we may try to convince ourselves that unity should be prized above all, dissenting voices can bring much needed perspective and ideas to counter the herd mentality ...

By Bryan Hyde Commentary -- If we’re serious about promoting racial harmony, here’s an example we might consider following.  Blues musician Daryl Davis has persuaded no less than 200 individuals to leave the Ku Klux Klan. One or two might have been an aberration. Scores of succe ...

By Bryan Hyde Ever get the feeling that you’ve been cast, against your will, in the world’s largest reality TV show?  Before we can remove ourselves from the contrived drama, we first have to understand how we got there. This has a lot to do with how much media we consume on a daily basis.  Television pr ...

By Bryan Hyde One of the most important lessons we can learn in life is that no one is coming to our rescue. That’s why it’s so important that we learn to accept responsibility for our own lives as early as possible.  A lot of people seem to have acquired a long-term habit of avoiding accountability as a way of avoiding punishment.  Or they find ...

By Bryan Hyde The headlines sure make it seem that genuine peace is becoming a scarce commodity in our world. Peace isn’t just something that can be measured by whether or not a nation is in an official state of war. It’s needed at every level of society right down to the individual. And that’ ...

By Bryan Hyde Opportunities exist all around us to help others in need. These needs don’t have to be dramatic in order to count.  The point here is that we can make the crucial difference if we are actively seeking opportunities to serve. Too often, ou ...

By Bryan Hyde History can be a magnificent mentor for those willing to study it patiently and deliberately. At the same time, history itself does not teach lessons.  Historians will do their best to construct a plausible and comprehensive narrative based on the evidence available in their time. But ...

By Bryan Hyde Ever notice how some of the unhappiest people in life are those who see everyone else as a potential opponent? Whether it’s in the workplace, in traffic, or even among family, some folks are determined to treat life as if it were some kind of winner-takes-all game. But ...