Instead of a book review, I’d like to share some articles I’ve read recently.

I enjoy getting the weekly digest email from JStor, the repository of academic journal articles and much more. This piece on Jane Goodall has some great quotes and links to some of her work. What an incredible force for good in the world she was! I hope you’ve watched her final interview on Netflix, too.

A long piece from David Brooks that was published in September 2023 is still relevant: “How America Got Mean.” While I never entirely agree with Brooks (a bit conservative and religious for my way of seeing the world), but his insights into society are always interesting, well-supported, and thought-provoking. Here he discusses the decline of civility as it relates to how we educate our citizens. He also points out that political tribalism does not lead us toward the ethical question of “How do I lead a good life?”

Articles like “Who’s Watching?” (accidentally truncated in the online version), make me appreciate that we still have local journalism in my community. I hope you are so fortunate. I had no idea that traffic cams were being used for anything other than speeding or catching people running red lights. Not only does law enforcement argue that the ends justify the means (nope), but the city council demonstrated yet another tone-deaf action in defiance of true representative governance. Appalling all around.  

Have you ever taken a close look at our capitalist, consumer culture and wondered if shopping really embodies the spirit of freedom? This essay by Sophia Rosenfeld will have you taking a closer look at the history of choice. Do we really need so many options? Or does it just encourage us to have too much of everything? George Carlin’s rant about “stuff” comes to mind.

Recently America put the penny to rest. A coin that cost three times what it was worth to make, that you won’t bend over to pick up off the ground, died a deserved death. But what are we to do with them all? Caity Weaver takes a humorous look at the problem, but also dishes out a lot of facts in “Pennies are Trash Now.” She had me laughing out loud!

Finally, I want to express my thanks to blogger Brandi Betts for introducing me to “Sean of the South.” I signed up for his daily email, and it’s one of the first things I read every morning. Why? He shares uplifting stories, from his own life, of others. Some are contemporary, some are historical (such as a recent piece on George Handel). And he isn’t trying to sell me anything. I believe his is just truly trying to make the world a kinder place.