January, 2019 archive
The Art of the Con 0
David Treadwell marvels at the marks.
The Vice of the Turtle . . . 0
. . . lays about the land.
Tribes and Tribulations 0
Mike Brooks suggests that the tribalism of our contemporary politics is rooted in humans’ evolutionary past. He points out that, until very recently in the sweep of history, humans lived in tribal groups of up to a couple of hundred persons. Even when persons were absorbed in the realms of empires and kingdoms, day-to-day transactions were confined to villages with few inhabitants. He suggests that Donald Trump’s desire for a border wall both symbolizes is fed in part by a toxic hyper-tribalism. A snippet:
(snip)
In one sense, it can be okay to take some pride in this affiliation (e.g., “I’m proud to be an American,” “I love my university”). However, it’s easy to slip into tribal, us vs. them mentality when we start saying versions of “me and my group are better than you and your group.” Arguably, this is how patriotism (e.g., “I love my country”) can turn into a more tribal nationalism (e.g., “my country is the best/greatest”). A look back through history (e.g., Nazi concentration camps, genocides, slavery, ethnic cleansing) offers hard lessons about what can happen when hyper-tribalism runs amok.
I commend the entire article to your attention.
“The Red Letter Year” 0
When I was in elementary school in Jim Crow Virginia, the third grade Virginia history book lauded the year 1619 as the “Red Letter Year” for three events:
- The first meeting of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in the colonies.
- The arrival of the first English women in the colony.
- The arrival of the first black (the word in the textbook was, I believe, “African”) slaves.
At the Hartford Courant, Frank Harris III looks back on the legacy of that last event, America’s original sin, the effects of which soil this polity still.
Afterthought:
I wonder whether the schools still teach 1619 as a “Red Letter Year”? Hell, as I look about, I wonder whether they still teach history at all. (One of my friends recently told me of a conversation with a politically active young whippersnapper who did not know that President Andrew Johnson had been impeached, nor that Richard Nixon had resigned because he feared imminent impeachment and conviction.)
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Wade Gilley has had enough.
I can’t say that I agree with him wholeheartedly, but I share his thoughts about the paid-by-the-puff opinionaters on my telly vision.
Doggone, Froggone 0
Despite what you read on the internet, it is not true that, if you raise the heat slowly, a frog will allow you to boil it to death. When it gets uncomfortable, the frog will flee.
Nevertheless, Shaun Mullen could not resist toadying up to that moldy metaphor.
Base Desires 0
If the image doesn’t display, click “alt text” to go to the original. Frankly, I’m baffled; I can’t find any errors in the HTML. Normally, I’d sweep this under the rug make the post “private,” but the image is too powerful to abandon. (Later) Darn thing seems to be working now. Electrons. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em. Furrfu.
Suffer the Children 0
Thom reports on a study that racist and sexist bullying among middle school children has increased since the election of Donald Trump.
