I think what you call "smirkiness," Robin, comes from the fall of humanities in U.S. schools.
For years I attributed this to the far-right programs following the 1971 Powell memo -- programs to marginalize and outright kill humanities. But then, too, even before that Dems were guilty of numbering, abstracting, packaging all life, as David Halberstam explored in "The Best and the Brightest."
I think what you call "smirkiness," Robin, comes from the fall of humanities in U.S. schools.
For years I attributed this to the far-right programs following the 1971 Powell memo -- programs to marginalize and outright kill humanities. But then, too, even before that Dems were guilty of numbering, abstracting, packaging all life, as David Halberstam explored in "The Best and the Brightest."
Yes, the whole education system has to be re-evaluated in terms of actual learning and how it's done and what it's for, and that of course is also up for questioning In a society run by ever greater greed - to which whole generations are so accustomed they no little else. Community Colleges, state colleges, have become good options mostly. Elitism reflects that stupid reliance on a class or caste system whose main assumption lies in ages old beliefs in higher orders of being that magically translate to human form for the convenience of elitism,
i.e. the gods, in whatever religious cultures. And religion is a culture, and runs cultures in lots of places. NB: Judaism is an exception in that we don’t rely on that hierarchal structure, instead using a rabbinic scholarly one, as a peoplehood.
Ask Dems nationwide -- in local, state, and federal office -- to appear together in public forums. In sets of two, three, and four, have them address the public programs already implemented and those yet needed.
Ask them, too, to point to favorite humanities of theirs (writings, music, film) which underscore the human side of these programs.
Many who read much in private -- even belong to book clubs -- have no model to see elites making connections between private and public.
Tens of millions of Japanese here where I live, and Americans where I lived much longer, all went to schools where teachers were all unequipped, unschooled themselves in making connections between the personal and the public.
Our schools got zapped of those resources, those skills, those priorities. Our schools got turned over instead to the commercial, billionaire, and other vulgar-only priorities.
Those vulgarities were the goals of all the foundations set up by the Powell memo of August 23, 1971.
We have this record in Jane Mayer's "Dark Money," Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police," Minae Mizumura's "The Fall of Language in the Age of English," Wendell Berry's "The Unsettling of America." and more.
God bless Ari Melber, Jamie Raskin, and so many more great Jews we have today.
Also the director of my own Ph.D. thesis at the U of Michigan a half-century ago, Marvin Felheim. He, a Harvard grad, had come from a very small town in northeast Kentucky, where his dad was the town tailor or hardware store owner (sorry, don't remember exactly which). I visited that town when Marvin was already very old, and found people who recalled its first and only Jewish family.
The subject of education as a foundation of democracy will always in this country and many others involve the contributions of the Jewish peoplehood for the last 1,800 yrs at least. This is so little understood in the general culture for myriad reasons not the least a sense that jews are only born not made, stereotyping being such a handy way of dismissing everyone's personal responsibility for their own growth.
Our necessarily acquired, created ongoing transition from priests to rabbis highlights possibilities for any cultural group to enrich its own real learning; the kind unafraid of asking unending questions for ever more lighting up of both heart and mind, our major calling card. Which makes us dangerous :-) .
Yes, Robin -- anyone who asks questions verges on the dangerous.
Long time ago I picked off of a drugstore rack a paperback book called "Jews, God, and History," by Max Dimont. It was a romp through the history of western civilization, through the perspectives of prominent Jews ever contributing to it. Jews were always a bit of outsiders, which perhaps gave good impetus for questioning things, imagining things differently, helping make things different.
So I, a non-Jew, have since then appreciated all that. Though I regret what the far-right settlers have been doing on the West Bank, so provoking deep ill feelings among the earlier inhabitants there. Regret the constant damages done by these settlers, for which the U.S. has ever felt obliged to pay.
Stereotypes? Schools over there could teach all to see "others" with respect as individuals. The U.S., however, much more prefers building up not understanding, but weaponry.
there's way too much complicated history involved here, and, the present Israeli government needs to be kicked out, being the one that refuses what previous governments there have proposed many times, i.e real dialog with the PA - that keeps refusing to talk. Why Abbas is even there is a Palestinian problem they have not themselves
solved. Israelis have consistently favored a two-state solution. Go figure.
I want to see the schools engaged with each other.
Those of one "side" will write essays (part of learning English) so everyone introduces oneself, eventually so all in one class can read the intro essays of all in the class of the other "side."
The first essays will take a bit to write and revise. Students will specify how each inhabits one's styles (given or chosen) regarding necessities all have: food-clothing-shelter. Shelter may include inside, interiors of places one spends time, and outside, landscapes. Landscape may include modes of travel.
Students in one's home classroom all read each other's first drafts, then revise, quoting others for points one likes -- direct quote or indirect. Instructor stays busy, helping with mechanics.
When revisions are set, everyone's paper goes to the other "side." All there read all, and then begins a second round of essays -- all quoting the neighbors one likes.
Beats all the money the U.S. government and the Iranian government now spend for murder and violence.
I think what you call "smirkiness," Robin, comes from the fall of humanities in U.S. schools.
For years I attributed this to the far-right programs following the 1971 Powell memo -- programs to marginalize and outright kill humanities. But then, too, even before that Dems were guilty of numbering, abstracting, packaging all life, as David Halberstam explored in "The Best and the Brightest."
Yes, the whole education system has to be re-evaluated in terms of actual learning and how it's done and what it's for, and that of course is also up for questioning In a society run by ever greater greed - to which whole generations are so accustomed they no little else. Community Colleges, state colleges, have become good options mostly. Elitism reflects that stupid reliance on a class or caste system whose main assumption lies in ages old beliefs in higher orders of being that magically translate to human form for the convenience of elitism,
i.e. the gods, in whatever religious cultures. And religion is a culture, and runs cultures in lots of places. NB: Judaism is an exception in that we don’t rely on that hierarchal structure, instead using a rabbinic scholarly one, as a peoplehood.
What can we do by Nov
Herd cats, Jeri.
Ask Dems nationwide -- in local, state, and federal office -- to appear together in public forums. In sets of two, three, and four, have them address the public programs already implemented and those yet needed.
Ask them, too, to point to favorite humanities of theirs (writings, music, film) which underscore the human side of these programs.
As a cat owner, I understand the challenge. Do better one on one as a life-long introvert, but not shy about politics.
Reading? Libraries?
No, Kathy. Not just that alone, in isolation.
Many who read much in private -- even belong to book clubs -- have no model to see elites making connections between private and public.
Tens of millions of Japanese here where I live, and Americans where I lived much longer, all went to schools where teachers were all unequipped, unschooled themselves in making connections between the personal and the public.
Our schools got zapped of those resources, those skills, those priorities. Our schools got turned over instead to the commercial, billionaire, and other vulgar-only priorities.
Those vulgarities were the goals of all the foundations set up by the Powell memo of August 23, 1971.
We have this record in Jane Mayer's "Dark Money," Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police," Minae Mizumura's "The Fall of Language in the Age of English," Wendell Berry's "The Unsettling of America." and more.
God bless Ari Melber, Jamie Raskin, and so many more great Jews we have today.
Also the director of my own Ph.D. thesis at the U of Michigan a half-century ago, Marvin Felheim. He, a Harvard grad, had come from a very small town in northeast Kentucky, where his dad was the town tailor or hardware store owner (sorry, don't remember exactly which). I visited that town when Marvin was already very old, and found people who recalled its first and only Jewish family.
The subject of education as a foundation of democracy will always in this country and many others involve the contributions of the Jewish peoplehood for the last 1,800 yrs at least. This is so little understood in the general culture for myriad reasons not the least a sense that jews are only born not made, stereotyping being such a handy way of dismissing everyone's personal responsibility for their own growth.
Our necessarily acquired, created ongoing transition from priests to rabbis highlights possibilities for any cultural group to enrich its own real learning; the kind unafraid of asking unending questions for ever more lighting up of both heart and mind, our major calling card. Which makes us dangerous :-) .
Yes, Robin -- anyone who asks questions verges on the dangerous.
Long time ago I picked off of a drugstore rack a paperback book called "Jews, God, and History," by Max Dimont. It was a romp through the history of western civilization, through the perspectives of prominent Jews ever contributing to it. Jews were always a bit of outsiders, which perhaps gave good impetus for questioning things, imagining things differently, helping make things different.
So I, a non-Jew, have since then appreciated all that. Though I regret what the far-right settlers have been doing on the West Bank, so provoking deep ill feelings among the earlier inhabitants there. Regret the constant damages done by these settlers, for which the U.S. has ever felt obliged to pay.
Stereotypes? Schools over there could teach all to see "others" with respect as individuals. The U.S., however, much more prefers building up not understanding, but weaponry.
there's way too much complicated history involved here, and, the present Israeli government needs to be kicked out, being the one that refuses what previous governments there have proposed many times, i.e real dialog with the PA - that keeps refusing to talk. Why Abbas is even there is a Palestinian problem they have not themselves
solved. Israelis have consistently favored a two-state solution. Go figure.
I want to see the schools engaged with each other.
Those of one "side" will write essays (part of learning English) so everyone introduces oneself, eventually so all in one class can read the intro essays of all in the class of the other "side."
The first essays will take a bit to write and revise. Students will specify how each inhabits one's styles (given or chosen) regarding necessities all have: food-clothing-shelter. Shelter may include inside, interiors of places one spends time, and outside, landscapes. Landscape may include modes of travel.
Students in one's home classroom all read each other's first drafts, then revise, quoting others for points one likes -- direct quote or indirect. Instructor stays busy, helping with mechanics.
When revisions are set, everyone's paper goes to the other "side." All there read all, and then begins a second round of essays -- all quoting the neighbors one likes.
Beats all the money the U.S. government and the Iranian government now spend for murder and violence.
Phil, trying to ship an Atlantic article here 'The Anticlimatic End of Israel's
Democracy Crisis' but can't figure out how - working on my smartphone...
Robert McNamara birthed the U.S. weapons export industry in an effort to both pay for Vietnam and curb inflation. Haunted us ever since.