Teenagers and senior citizens sometimes have trouble finding common ground. One 16-year-old is helping to bridge the gap through technology.
Category Archives: Ourselves and Others
Three Clergymen, Three Faiths, One Relationship
Religious differences don’t have to be either glossed over or insurmountable, as three “interfaith amigos” demonstrate in discussions across the country.
Jews Are Fleeing Russia Because of Putin
Immigrants from Russia make up a surprisingly large percentage of the Israeli population. Find out why this is so, now more than ever.
Indian Country Diaries: The Urban Relocation Program
In the 1950s, Native Americans were encouraged to move from reservations into urban areas. Learn more about how and why this relocation program happened and what the results were.
RACE: Are We So Different?
Despite apparent differences among people whose ancestors came from different part of the world, all humans can be traced back to a shared beginning. This interactive site explores our assumptions about the idea of race.
Anti-homeless spikes: ‘Sleeping rough opened my eyes to the city’s barbed cruelty’
It’s easy to view homeless people as “other” without considering why they are homeless or what challenges they face. In some cities, businesses have installed “defensive architecture” designed to stop homeless people from congregating or sleeping in public spaces. Read one writer’s opinion of this practice.
Social Networking Sites and Politics
What’s a little political disagreement among friends? In many cases, it’s the last straw that causes people to cut ties to acquaintances on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The Pew Research Internet Project set out to document how often this happens.
Conquering Cliques in School
Cliques—small, exclusive social groups—make some students feel comfortable as they navigate the challenges of middle school and high school, but they may do so at the expense of the students who are left out. Some schools are now tackling this problem head-on.
Immigration: Assimilation and the measure of an American
Immigration can be a hot-button issue, with some opponents arguing that recent arrivals to the United States choose to retain their own language and culture. This article gets to the bottom of that concern, exploring recent data on assimilation—the process of adapting and fitting into a new country.
CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character
Most of us have experienced being treated as if we were less important than others, because of our age or social status or some other factor. But the people who make hiring decisions for some companies have taken notice, finding that how a job seeker treats those in service positions accurately reflects his or her character.
Integration of Central High School
In 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was a flash point in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans. There, nine African American students attempted to attend classes in the face of angry protests and the opposition of the state’s governor. This HISTORY feature shows how ugly fear of “the Other” can be.
The United States Flag
Seeing people mistreat the American flag, whether intentionally or accidentally, evokes strong feelings. But what does U.S. law currently say about how the American flag should be treated? Legislative attorney John R. Luckey sets forth the official rules and applies them to specific situations.
The Five Percent Problem
Conflicts may be universal, but most can eventually be resolved. However, researchers estimate that about 5% of conflicts are so entrenched and complex that they seem impossible to solve. In this video series, Peter T. Coleman discusses examples of such conflicts, including how they started and what could possibly end them.
A New House in the Old Country
Sometimes events fit together as neatly as a five-foot-wide house in an alleyway. In this essay, author Etgar Keret relates how he came to inhabit the world’s narrowest house—one perfectly meshing with his minimalist writing style—located in a place deeply significant to his family.
The Team: Better Together
A television project that targets countries grappling with a serious conflict, The Team uses a fictional, soccer-related drama to help people consider resolutions and come to mutual understandings. The program has been widely successful because it is produced locally, with people who truly understand the conflict in the area.