Consequences of Social Media
What follows is an interesting article about Israel’s incitement laws and the complex relationship between identity and social media, particularly at the intersection of political policy and national defense. A good read:
The Trim Beneath the Fascia
A recent wind-storm took off the metal fascia covering the original, 1949 trim work on our Skokie home.
Letters from an American
One of my favorite, regular reads:
Jan 15
You hear sometimes, now that we know the sordid details of the lives of some of our leading figures, that America has no heroes left.
When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre, where heroism was pretty thin on the ground, I gave that a lot of thought. And I came to believe that heroism is neither being perfect, nor doing something spectacular. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost, even if no one will ever know, even as they realize the walls might be closing in around them.
It means sitting down the night before D-Day and writing a letter praising the troops and taking all the blame for the next day’s failure upon yourself, in case things went wrong, as General Dwight D. Eisenhower did.
It means writing in your diary that you “still believe that people are really good at heart,” even while you are hiding in an attic from the men who are soon going to kill you, as Anne Frank did.
It means signing your name to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence in bold print, even though you know you are signing your own death warrant should the British capture you, as John Hancock did.
It means defending your people’s right to practice a religion you don’t share, even though you know you are becoming a dangerously visible target, as Sitting Bull did.
Sometimes it just means sitting down, even when you are told to stand up, as Rosa Parks did.
None of those people woke up one morning and said to themselves that they were about to do something heroic. It’s just that, when they had to, they did what was right.
On April 3, 1968, the night before the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a white supremacist, he gave a speech in support of sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Since 1966, King had tried to broaden the Civil Rights Movement for racial equality into a larger movement for economic justice. He joined the sanitation workers in Memphis, who were on strike after years of bad pay and such dangerous conditions that two men had been crushed to death in garbage compactors.
After his friend Ralph Abernathy introduced him to the crowd, King had something to say about heroes: “As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about.”
Dr. King told the audience that, if God had let him choose any era in which to live, he would have chosen the one in which he had landed. “Now, that’s a strange statement to make,” King went on, “because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around…. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” Dr. King said that he felt blessed to live in an era when people had finally woken up and were working together for freedom and economic justice.
He knew he was in danger as he worked for a racially and economically just America. “I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter…because I’ve been to the mountaintop…. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life…. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
People are wrong to say that we have no heroes left.
Just as they have always been, they are all around us, choosing to do the right thing, no matter what.
Wishing you all a day of peace for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024.
[Image of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., by Buddy Poland.]
Notes:
Dr. King’s final speech:
Biden renews call for assault weapons ban
President Biden issued the following statement Thursday morning (10/26/23) on the deadly mass shooting in Lewiston:
Once again, our nation is in mourning after yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting. Today, Jill and I are praying for the Americans who’ve lost their lives, for those still in critical care, and for the families, survivors, and community members enduring shock and grief.
I also urge area residents to heed the warnings and guidance of local officials. Numerous Federal law enforcement personnel are on the scene and actively working with state and local partners. As I told Maine Governor Janet Mills, Senators Collins and King, and Congressman Golden last night, I have directed my administration to provide everything that is needed to support the people of Maine. We will continue to be there every step of the way.
For countless Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatized by it, a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds. Far too many Americans have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence. That is not normal, and we cannot accept it.
While we have made progress on gun safety through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the two dozen executive actions I’ve taken, and the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, it’s simply not enough.
Today, in the wake of yet another tragedy, I urge Republican lawmakers in Congress to fulfill their duty to protect the American people. Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to enact universal background checks, to require safe storage of guns, and end immunity from liability for gun manufacturers. This is the very least we owe every American who will now bear the scars — physical and mental — of this latest attack.
How Kindness Matters & Can Help You
Self-criticism is often seen as a virtue. But psychologist Kristin Neff says there’s a better path to self-improvement — self-compassion. She says people who practice self-compassion are more conscientious and more likely to take responsibility for their mistakes.
I-pad, not I-panacea
The following entry was written in the Fall of 2013; I neglected to publish it then. Now, 10 years on, I thought I would publish it.
I have been playing with my Ipad with all the joy Lt. Shann Childson musters in the face of a shackled wookie. He's the Imperial officer who confronts Han, Luke and Chewbacca as they enter a Death Star prison command center. "Where are you taking this...thing?" he drolls. As I launch-and-close, launch-and-close applications, I can't help but feel my books leering. Actual books made of actual paper, penned and read--damaged in fact--by none other than yours truly. The books' disdain is palpable.
In full disclosure: I prefer the technology of eras by-gone. I am a fountain pen man, at first an Esterbrook fan, more recently a proud owner of my grandfather's Parker big-red. I prefer Watermann's washable-blue to any cartridged ink, and I would trade a toner cartridge for typewriter ribbon on any given Tuesday. Any wrist bearing a bracelet made of removed typewriter keys is a hand worth cleaving off. So I was born skeptical of the new. But I'm not entirely a luddite, either. I know there's a time for a new pen tip, a software update, a better and improved stapler.
Does reading on an Ipad make sense? The positive: It allows you to zoom in on text, pictures, graphics. You can conduct word searches easily, can launch integrated definitions, related contextual materials. Font changes can help the visually challenged. Some ebooks come with audio in multi-variable speed, in various languages to boot. It simulates movement--graphic organizers, video, line drawings. And of course the Ipad provides many supportive studying technologies--email, internet, video, and all the apps humanity can muster.
The downside: You cannot write on pages easily. Annotation supports memory and a deeper reading of texts; the Ipad was made for superficial skimming. Physically, the Ipad's an unweildly script, isn't as durable or consumable as paper. The Ipad robs the reader of spacial and tactile memory when reading. While expensive and heavier, it's also less environmentally friendly than books. When the power is out, and the battery is dead, learning stops. For readers, it's more physically and mentally demanding. The direct reflective light strains the eyes, isn't well suited for long reading periods; the reflected light of the printed page is softer and easier on our eyes. Because it's a multi-tasking device, it likewise distracts in multiple ways. And then video. It has the distraction of videos and all the apps humanity can muster.
I am of course biased. I do believe that the Ipad will not easily replace books in an English classroom setting, because it can't replicate what books do and do well. Wherever students have their own copy of the text--the poem, the play, the novel or story--the Ipad can't replicate a literary experience. At New Trier's English Department, our students have been technologically one-to-one for over a century. Even today, the Ipad doesn't advantage English students as it might, for example, in a Math, Science, or Geography course. Certainly, the Ipad and it's bosom buddy ebook should replace some traditional texts. (Speilvogel's 4-level World History textbook--I'm looking in your direction!)
While I am glad for students with access to an interactive work-management device, that's all the Ipad is. A tool. Like any tool, it does what it does well. What it doesn't do, it doesn't do. And so for the time being, the Ipad will not replace my books. And for your sake, I hope it doesn't replace all of yours too.
“Who can see the barely perceptible line between the man who can not read at all and the man who does not read at all? The literate who can, but does not, read, and the illiterate who neither does nor can?”
A Season for Building
Staring into the Lake Michigan void.
Author’s note: I wrote this entry 8/2022, but the video is from 8/2023. I am nothing, if not consistent.
Each August, I look back at my summer month of vacation (this is a point of contention between private and public sector workers; the former contends that teachers get three months off, while teachers insist that teachers get 8 weeks at maximum—and if you work summer school at New Trier, as few as two weeks off before school resumes) with trepidation.
Have I wasted my summer? Did I accomplish my goal(s)? Were the (private and public workers agree) precious, golden days spent fruitfully or foolishly?
This summer, I can measure my days in building. I re-built a few birdhouses. I built new stairs for our back porch. I built and maintained a community garden at Madison School. I even built up the stores of canned tomatoes in our basement.
I also managed some relationship building with family. In Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH, three days of roller coasters and park food began to relive the constant ache of pandemic quarrentine.
Of course, it wasn’t enough. Even though my reading lists were (mostly) for pleasure. Even though I selfishly stared into the Lake Michigan void from South Beach shoreline in Evanston.
But it was a start.
The (Lost) Art of Making a Mix Tape
Also from the NYT, “How to Make a Playlist” in a digital world.
The 2022 Morning Summer playlist on Spotify, also from the NYT