Few Americans are indifferent to Texas, with admirers (like me) probably outnumbering the haters, found in particularly large numbers in states like California that have been losing jobs and residents to Texas.  But even the haughtiest critics of the Lone Star State have to be impressed that Texas is demonstrating stunning leadership in countering the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The countless inspiring volunteers already have demonstrated qualities of altruism, bravery, and gutsy persistence that even the most effete coastal elites have to admire in their hearts.  Disaster of this magnitude speaks to parts of the mind and the soul that operate in the unconscious as well as conscious parts of cognition.  The imaginary rugged, macho, swaggering Texan of coastal prejudice turns out to be exactly the kind of guy or gal you can rely on when it counts. But there is another level to the story that is equally heroic and potentially mind-changing when it comes to...(Read Full Post)