Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
And another one in J.D.’s honor — an attempt to find a middle ground in the most polarizing debate of our time:
Rethinking Abortion Advocacy
https://quillette.com/2019/05/21/ret...tion-advocacy/
Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ma'ake
Older folks - 60+ - in my wife's hometown put together a "Remember when..." facebook group where they can reminisce about the past, post old photos, etc.
Somebody posted an old photo of riverboat races on the Ohio River next to town, with 3 boats - one with a US flag and the other two with Confederate flags.
This, of course, led to a discussion / debate about the role of the Confederate flag, and the inevitable claim that the Civil War was not at about slavery, but about states rights, tariffs from the north, etc.
WaPo recently published an article that explains this mythology -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...=.6f62f16d7a4f
Essentially, young children as young as 2 were joined into a group called "Children of the Confederacy" where they were indoctrinated with the erroneous ideas that the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery, but was about protecting southern heritage, or whatever. (For some reason no African American children were ever invited, and my wife knew nothing about these educational efforts.)
Fast forward to last week - the "owner" of the Facebook group announced that anyone who wanted to continue the debate about the South, the Civil War, etc, needed to take it off line, as Facebook was threatening to shut down the group.
Maybe... just maybe... a turn in the better direction.
I have no patience for the claim that the war was about much more than slavery. No slavery, no Civil War. That is the bottom line. As a Civil War buff, I can’t understand how anyone can be aware of the history and still claim that war was about some type of noble cause. It was not a noble cause.
http://<a href="https://youtu.be/pcy...cy7qV-BGF4</a>
Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
This is for Ma’ake, from SU, vía yours truly.
Socialism in No Country
Why the revolutionary left has always been bad news for democracy
https://newrepublic.com/article/1537...-bad-democracy
Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
This is on the long side but worth reading. (Yes, J.D. would have assigned it.) The writer’s ideological bent is hard for me to discern. Fairly libertarian, I think.
How the IDW Can Avoid the Tribalist Pull
https://quillette.com/2019/05/24/how...ribalist-pull/
Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ma'ake
That *was* a long read, JD. ;)
The author is Russian born, which I think may help explain her strong bias toward free speech, no matter how toxic, but otherwise, I got the sense she was warning about the IDW being a magnet for all kinds of dangerous thinking just because it's anti-PC. "The enemy of your enemy may not be your friend".
My wife teaches at a Title I Jr. HS. They have a kid who is acting out, dad is a bishop, the kid spews white supremacist stuff in a school that is far more diverse than most in Utah. They brought his parents in, the dad was apparently in denial and the mom starting sobbing and couldn't stop. Messy situation. When I was at that age, we had an odd kid who professed an admiration for Adolph Hitler, I think mostly to get attention. (He turned out fine. Jr. HS can be an interesting time in the development of kids' brains & personalities.)
The difference is with today's technology anyone's opinion can be amplified and even a Jr. HS kid can get a national audience with radicals cheering them on, as the article describes happening.
Even though I generally disagree with him, one point Jordan Peterson makes I agree with is there needs to be boundaries, and culture is important.
We have a multi-cultural society, but we need some unifying cultural foundation, and there have to be limits. You can't beat your kids. You can't threaten others. Basically, all the stuff we learn in Kindergarten. There will always be some problems and friction with diversity, but I think the world is a better place the more people interact and build connections and understand and respect each other, and if that can happen in Elementary school & Jr HS, it's far easier than later, when thinking is engrained & open-mindedness seems to disappear far too often.
Diversity can be an inoculation against unbridled nationalism, which has led to countless wars over the course of history.
Right. I think avoiding excessive tribalism is a bipartisan goal, at least for those not on either fringe. As you note, there will always be some tribalism, because that’s just human nature. But we should collectively set boundaries on it.
Political/Cultural Chit-Chat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Irving Washington
Explain, please, in the context of Millenials and Gen Z
Liberals (I’m generalizing) often seem very concerned (often using the word “frightening”) about trends they see on the right. They see the next Hitler around every corner, and often wax eloquent on the subject. You should see some of the things my very liberal partners in our New York office write. I am not frightened by the left, but I see some trends that are disturbing. I just wonder if my liberal friends see the same thing. I don´t know what millennials and Gen Z have to do with it, but I´m ready to learn.