President & CEO Bob Boisture featured in USA Today
Bob Boisture has served as president of the Fetzer Institute since 2013, and during this time, Fetzer has adopted its current mission statement, “helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world.” This mission reflects the Institute’s view that humanity will never summon the will, courage, and hope to meet the challenges we face until a critical mass of us truly open our hearts in love to each other and the natural world. As part of this work, Bob has written several USA Today perspectives advocating for a sacred vision—rooted in faith and spirituality—as essential to our shared flourishing.
Not Left or Right, But Deep: How People of Faith Can Help to Heal America's Divisions | USA Today, December 6, 2022
"We must fan the flames of spiritual renewal within our religious traditions to help them overcome dogmatism and division and to become their best, most life-affirming selves.
Do spirituality and religion pull us together or apart? A new public opinion survey by the nonprofit research organization Public Agenda provides intriguing data points that seem to pull in opposing directions."
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Can you love a Democrat? How about a Republican? Here's how we can bridge our divisions | USA Today, April 9, 2022
"Think about how our conversations across political, racial and other divides would be transformed if they were grounded in love.
Odds are you agree that our country’s deep divides are bad for our democracy and that we need to learn how to bridge them. Poll after poll confirms this is how most Americans feel.
If you are looking for a great place to start, I strongly encourage you to sign up to participate in America Talks."
American democracy is in a partisan death spiral. Here's how we can save it | USA Today, July 25, 2021
"Living from fear and living from love are very different things.
Fear closes our hearts. Love opens them. Fear despairs. Love hopes. Fear shouts. Love listens. Fear has to be right. Love is willing to be wrong. Fear thinks the other side must lose for our side to win. Love knows we win together.
Our country is being fractured by fear. We fear rapid and massive change we cannot control. We fear economic instability. We fear leaders, laws and systems that deny our full humanity. We fear a culture that demeans us and the values we hold dear. We fear the damage we are doing to the natural world. Increasingly, we fear each other."
How to resist the powerful forces trying to make us fear our fellow Americans | USA Today, June 16, 2021
"How did we ever persuade ourselves that we can love America without loving Americans?
Fractured by fear. Living from fear and living from love are very different things. Fear closes our hearts. Love opens them. Fear despairs. Love hopes. Fear shouts. Love listens. Fear has to be right. Love is willing to be wrong. Fear thinks the other side must lose for our side to win. Love knows we can only win together."
