Mending Is Better Than Ending
Why repair what’s broken when you can discard it? Why wrestle with suffering when you can anesthetize it? Why invest in healing when replacement is more efficient? Continue reading Mending Is Better Than Ending
Author: Robert Rasmussen
The Wrong Race: What Winning Costs in America
American competitive culture—the belief that you prove your worth by sacrificing everything, that love must be earned through achievement, that there is no second place—is a choice. Not fate. Not human nature. A cultural invention.
And a cruel one. Continue reading The Wrong Race: What Winning Costs in America
Breaking Down Barriers: AI’s Role in Authentic Writing
But those rough edges were never the source of authenticity. They were just markers of who could and couldn’t afford good editing.
The machine didn’t give me my ideas, create my arguments, or manufacture my voice. It did what my human editors did—helped me find the words that were always there but just out of reach. Continue reading Breaking Down Barriers: AI’s Role in Authentic Writing
Where No One Is Looking
History is full of surprises that make experts look foolish and predictions look quaint. The breakthroughs might be invented in rich nations, but the transformation—the real meaning of those breakthroughs—often comes from places no one was watching Continue reading Where No One Is Looking
The Quiet After the Storm
In that strange stillness between chaos and clarity, between what was and what’s coming, we’re telling ourselves stories that don’t quite match what’s actually unfolding. Continue reading The Quiet After the Storm
Retiring To Something (Not From Something)
For most of my life, I’ve been wired to build, lead, and plan. Retirement felt like stepping out of a story I’ve been writing for decades — an ending, a withdrawal. But lately I’ve realized: you don’t retire from something. You retire to something. Continue reading Retiring To Something (Not From Something)
The Temple Turnover: When Good Intentions Meet Misaligned Incentives
When donations reduce tax obligations, we begin to equate generosity with financial strategy. The giver feels righteous; the recipient feels validated; the state loses resources. Continue reading The Temple Turnover: When Good Intentions Meet Misaligned Incentives
Beyond Labels, Toward a Shared Purpose
Our best work begins when we resist fear and step toward each other. Whether in policy, economics, or the pews, our calling is the same: to co-create something better, together. Continue reading Beyond Labels, Toward a Shared Purpose
Drifting Toward Home (and What Comes Next)
It’s been a quiet week or so here on Better Places. After many weeks of posting twice a week, I’ve … Continue reading Drifting Toward Home (and What Comes Next)
The Magic Mirror and the Lost Humanities
“The question isn’t, ‘Is the mirror alive?’ The real question is, ‘Are we?’ If we lose touch with our own humanity, the AI mirror will reflect only our shallowness. Reclaim the humanities. Read deeply. Be your own mirror.” Continue reading The Magic Mirror and the Lost Humanities
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