Moore blogs with Psychology Today today

Thomas Moore starts blogging with Psychology Today in his new Spirituality blog called Care of the Soul: Creating a richer life and a more beautiful world. In his first entry, "Lighten up with Gravitas" Moore talks about next Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election and the need for candidates to show intellectual heft and humour. Moore writes,

"I've heard some commentators say that [Sarah Palin] lacks gravitas. Yes, I thought, a degree of intellectual and emotional weight is necessary in a leader, and leadership is what these elections are about. Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that fact. I see gravitas in Barack Obama, and I've watched George W. Bush struggle with it for eight years. He reaches for it, but it slips away in his folksiness and in the lightness of his thought.

But our leaders are mirrors of ourselves, and so I wonder about the gravitas of the American people. I often spend time in Ireland and find the people there quite different from Americans. Their heart is more tender and present in public life. They respond as a country in a felt way to people in need, and yet they also have gravitas. You only have to read the national newspapers there and see the intelligence and weight of ideas and respect for thought and language. Our newspapers are becoming lighter and lighter. Soon they will only be a collection of headlines and an assortment of opinionated, inflamed positions and attacks."
. . .
"But gravitas is only one side of a whole picture. The other side is lightness and humor. I haven't seen much humor among the candidates for election and I wonder if that is not due to the lack of gravitas. Good gravitas and good humor go together."

Read Moore’s entire post and comment if you have want to share thoughts with Care of the Soul readers.