Word: factor
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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...once asked me whether, if Gorbachev or my modest self had not appeared at the time we did, the changes that have taken place in recent years would have been possible. I do not underestimate the role of the individual in history. But he is often not the determining factor in events. An individual's stature can only be measured by how correctly he has read the trends of the moment...
...city's already tense race relations. Black supporters of the youths charged that the media had hypocritically focused on this case while ignoring countless aggressions against nonwhite women. But the jurors -- four whites, four blacks, three Hispanics and one Asian -- insisted that they quickly discarded race as a factor in their 12 days of deliberations...
What accounted for this latest display of Oval Office policy juggling? One ingredient is the ongoing conflict between the "kinder, gentler" President Bush, outwardly sympathetic to society's disadvantaged, and the ruthless Candidate Bush, willing to exploit atavistic emotions to gain votes. Another factor is the slippery nature of racial politics, so easy to unleash but so difficult to control. For example, the Education Department's ruling on minority scholarships, which caused consternation in both the White House and the college community, apparently sprouted from a subordinate's overzealous attempt to follow the instincts of Candidate Bush. That misjudgment...
...amount of money at risk is likely to be small, since need-based aid and minority scholarships established by private organizations like the United Negro College Fund remain legal. Colleges may also continue to take race into account in awarding money so long as it is not the only factor involved -- and financial need rather than race is often the dominant consideration in scholarship aid anyway...
...into (as individuals or organizations or as government) is connected to sloppy communication. Our words too often lead us away from where we want to go; they unwittingly antagonize friends or business associates. We are infuriated when our position is not understood and then becomes the collapsing factor in an important business deal. Or we are terrified when the leaders of government miscommunicate and put their countries on a collision course...