Somebodies and Nobodies

Dignity for all.

Robert W. Fuller, Ph.D., former president of Oberlin College, is an authority on rankism and dignity. See full bio

October 20, 2009

From Hate to Love

With even a modest diminution of fear, we re-conceive our enemies as adversaries. With a hint of mutual value, adversaries become rivals. Finally, by recognizing their mutual dependency, rivals begin to see themselves as partners. As enmity is transformed into comity, and comity into amity, we prepare the ground for love. Read More

October 9, 2009

Obama’s Nobel Honors His Dignitarian Politics

Awarding President Obama the Nobel Prize is an expression of the hope that our best chance for world peace lies in the dignitarian politics of which he is an exemplar. Read More

October 8, 2009

Travel to Create Your Self

We do not travel to get away from it all. Travel fails as escape but it succeeds as confrontation--confrontation with our old selves that, deprived of their usual confirmatory surroundings, may yield to a new one.

October 4, 2009

How Nobodies Can Be Somebodies (FAQs re The Dignity Movement against Rankism)

Following in the footsteps of uppity women, expect to see more uppity nobodies as the dignity movement gains momentum. Read More

September 25, 2009

Why Do We Want To Be Famous?

Fame is a bulwark against indignity. It proclaims our worth to anyone tempted to put us down and threatens retaliation if they persist. It even helps to quiet the critical voices we have internalized--of parents, classmates, and teachers--that echo in our heads long after these naysayers are gone. Read More

September 20, 2009

Must Love End?

During a long relationship, there are moments when we see our partners as we did at the outset--with beginner's eyes. A certain smile, a fragrance, a toss of the head, a posture or gait, can make our hearts leap. Read More

September 17, 2009

Love Unrequited (But Not Barren)

No suitor wants to admit it, but those who don't return our love often give us something as valuable as those who do. Read More

September 13, 2009

What Shall I Do with the Rest of My Life?

We love certain things and people because they offer hints to realizing the dreams of our youth. Each of those dreams is a rung in the ladder of love on which we've climbed toward our self.

September 10, 2009

Quests and Questions—A Path to Your Self

Identifying a heartfelt question and pursuing it with integrity is no less demanding than chivalric questing used to be-and no less transformative. Read More

September 8, 2009

The Nobody Manifesto

We are all once and future nobodies. Rankism is an indefensible abridgment of the dignity of nobodies, and a stain on the honor of somebodies. Read More