Author: kblaugheed

In my last several posts I have discussed the thorny issue of racism, and these posts have all been leading up to the following question:  What would happen if we could somehow overcome the prejudices of our past and see all the cultures of the world as equally valid? This is an idea I had…

In my previous post I suggested that just as birds of different feathers can learn to love & respect one another, so too can people overcome their prejudices if they are adequately motivated.  Thus the question is: what motivated our ancestors to see American cultures as inferior to those of Europe? Our ancestors were motivated by many…

I recently commended dogs and dandelions for being non-racist. Observant readers might’ve noticed I did not mention birds. Birds, who have been on earth maybe 160 million years longer than humans, are notorious racists. While humans may say nasty things about people of different colors and creeds, certain birds have evolved to eat other birds,…

In my previous post I suggested I would, in this post, explain why most people still assume Native American cultures were “primitive” compared to their European counterparts. I HATE it when I do things like this! Racism is such a hot-button issue–only a complete idiot would willingly lick a finger and stick it in that…

In a previous post (Who Ya Calling Primitive?, November 6, 2013), I explained my utter rejection of the notion that European cultures of the 17th & 18th centuries were “more advanced” than the corresponding Native American cultures.  When I talk about The Spirit Keeper at bookstores & libraries, this question of cultural evolution generates much…

Whenever I tell people I’ve written a novel, the first question they always ask is: what’s it about? I find this question difficult to answer. On its surface, The Spirit Keeper is an Indian captivity narrative set in 1747 in which a 17-year-old girl is removed from her frontier Pennsylvania home by Indians. But anyone…

Some readers have suggested I put a map on my website, detailing Katie’s journey thru The Spirit Keeper. While I can understand the desire for such a map, I’m reluctant to do this for several reasons: 1. Specific locations aren’t relevant to the story, which is mostly about what’s going on in Katie’s head. 2.…

I just survived another trip outside thru subzero temps & winds harsh enough to flash-freeze human flesh. Ain’t life grand? Winter is, w/o question, quite a challenge. But when I turn on the news, you’d think the world is coming to an end. Polar vortexes, droughts, fires, toxins, consumer fraud, the flu, terrorism . .…

I had a vision of the end of the world yesterday. Actually, I was just at the grocery for my weekly supply run, but, thanks to the frenzy whipped up by dire weather forecasts, I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with about 2,000 frantic shoppers as panic set it.  I saw a lot of wild-eyed grabbing, ruthless…