Dog of the Year

By Hillary | Published: April 1, 2007

Check out this year’s Dog of the Year – or substitute your own dog!

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

Too Bad There’s No Nobel Prize for Being Right

By Hillary | Published: March 29, 2007

Interesting front page article in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal about how one of the leading free trade advocates is now repenting. The article, Pain From Free Trade Spurs Second Thoughts (paid subscription; no link) quotes “Princeton University economist, former Federal Reserve Board vice chairman and perennial adviser to Democratic presidential candidates” Alan S. Blinder (ironical name) as saying in 2001, “Like 99% of economists since the days of Adam Smith, I am a free trader down to my toes.”

Now, Blinder is singing a different tune: “…he is saying loudly that a new industrial revolution — communication technology that allows services to be delivered electronically from afar — will put as many as 40 million American jobs at risk of being shipped out of the country in the next decade or two. That’s more than double the total of workers employed in manufacturing today. The job insecurity those workers face today is ‘only the tip of a very big iceberg,’ Mr. Blinder says.”

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

A 16-Year-Old + A Videocamera + the Web = A Better Future

By Hillary | Published: March 2, 2007

Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has,” and legions of technology devotees (including moi) keep insisting that the Internet and digital technologies are ushering in nothing less than a new, global Renaissance. Both points by now seem like cliches…until something happens that brings them vividly to life.

I don’t know how I managed to miss this up until now, but there’s a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Montgomery, Alabama, Ava Lowery, who is making the most awesome anti-Iraq war and anti-Bush Administration videos, which she posts on her blog (itself, awesome) PeaceTakesCourage The blog is getting 30,000 visitors a day, and you should be one of them.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

Because Voting Isn’t Enough: Ten Easy Pieces

By Hillary | Published: February 26, 2007

Living one’s values can seem a daunting task, especially if those values are outside the mainstream, or you’re struggling just to earn a living. That’s why this list of ten relatively easy things you can do to change the world is so welcome. It’s from the Small Planet Institute, the brainchild of Frances Moore Lappe, who wrote the seminal guide to socially-responsible eating, Diet for a Small Planet, and her daughter Anna.

The list includes: eat locally and organic, buy locally, support fair trade, get a “diverse media diet,” host a teach-in, and get involved in a cause. Just don’t get all perfectionist about it and think you’ve failed if you haven’t done all ten. Doing any of the ten is way better than doing none of them. Tackle them one at a time, and pull back if you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

Solving Problems vs. Dithering Over Them

By Hillary | Published: February 3, 2007

Q. In your talk, you discussed the importance of solving problems as opposed to dithering over them. What’s the difference, and what exactly does dithering mean?

A. Solving a problem means taking specific actions that lead to change. These include observing the problem, precisely defining it, developing a strategy to solve it, testing the strategy, refining the strategy, implementing the strategy, and evaluating success.

Dithering includes all the _other_ things you do about your problems, including worrying, feeling guilty, beating yourself up, complaining to family and friends, and feeling sorry for yourself.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | 1 Comment

I’m Interviewed on Vegan Radio and WBAI

By Hillary | Published: January 22, 2007

My interview with Derek Goodwin of Vegan Radio is now up on their site. It was a fun and lively conversation, during which Derek and co-host Megan Shackelford uncannily zeroed in on the two most controversial topics in The Lifelong Activist: (1) the part where I tell activists, artists and other free spirits to suck it up and get a decent-paying job with health benefits; and (2) the part where I say progressive activists should market and sell using the same techniques as corporations, albeit non-exploitatively.

My interview is about 40 minutes into the 60 minute show, but the whole show is fun and worth listening to.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

The Importance of Not Annoying Those Whom You’re Trying to Influence

By Hillary | Published: January 19, 2007

On Daily Kos, Kos wrote about how people who whine obnoxiously about how their favored politician isn’t receiving proper coverage on the blog aren’t doing themselves or their candidates any favors. That gave me the opportunity to condense some of The Lifelong Activist’s chapters on persuasion into a short essay, which begins as follows:

“In a posting today, Kos wrote: ‘There will always be a number of people who aren’t happy that I don’t worship at the altar of their favorite candidate. Anything but blind worship is considered disrespect….Every election there’s a crew that screams about biases and the like….Really, all the whining does neither you, nor your favorite guy any favors. It does the opposite — it turns people off from your guy.’

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

TLA Review: “not as gripping as The DaVinci Code”…but “incredibly readable, well-organized, and easy to follow.”

By Hillary | Published: January 19, 2007

OrangeClouds115, a citizen of the top liberal blog, Daily Kos, (a.k.a., a “Kossack”) has posted an “informative and charmingly” written review of The Lifelong Activist. In it, she discusses the book’s content in light of her own experiences and the challenges she’s faced as an activist, and the experiences and challenges of other activists she has known. Insightful and fun to read! Thanks, OC!

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

I want to take a dance class. Is that evil?

By Hillary | Published: January 15, 2007

Q. For years, I’ve wanted to take a jazz dance class, and now, after having read the part of The Lifelong Activist that says it’s good to meet your creative and other non-activist needs, I’m finally thinking of signing up for one. The only problem is that every time I actually get ready to call up and register, I get cold feet. (No pun.) I tell myself that I should use the time to do more activism, that I can’t afford it, and that I probably will miss half the sessions anyway. The truth is that I have a hard time doing anything except activism – although I don’t work nearly as hard as I should and wind up procrastinating a lot. Help!

A. I’ll assume that there is nothing else going on in your life right now that is so urgent that you can’t afford to take a couple of hours off each week to take the class. If so, then, in my view, it’s not just okay, but almost obligatory for you to register. Registering will reinforce the reality that you are a complex human being with diverse needs and interests, and not a monofocused robot whose only purpose and value is to do activism. Some people try to live as if they are such a robot, but it’s only the rare individual who can pull it off. Most of us grow deprived and unhappy if we try, and eventually burn out.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

Allergic to Spreadsheets

By Hillary | Published: January 12, 2007

Q. Do I have to do time management the way you say in The Lifelong Activist? I’m allergic to spreadsheets!

A. In The Lifelong Activist I offer a strategy for managing one’s time that involves (1) coming up with a short list of professional and personal priorities, based on your Mission, and allotting a set number of hours each week to each; then, (2) creating a weekly schedule that incorporates all of those priorities; and (3) working to stick to the schedule while at the same time tracking your time so that at the end of the week you can see how well you did.

I explicitly say that the system isn’t for everyone, and that if it isn’t for you, you should keep searching for one that’s better. However, most effective time management systems do ask you to budget and track your time, the way most money management systems ask you to budget and track your money, and most diets ask you to budget and track your calories. There’s simply no other way for most of us to control our use of a finite resource.

Read More »

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment
© Hillary Rettig 2006-2010 · Powered by WordPress · Patrick Tyrrell = Design