July 26, 2024

Civics

Nothing threatens authoritarianism like a quiet place to explore knowledge.

Image by sekihan via CC

"If psychological warfare planted the seeds for the culture war, the key to ending it might lie in that history, too. In 1948, when an Army psychological operations expert produced a guide to psychological war, it included instructions on how to achieve postwar psychological disarmament. “The free circulation of books” was key.

"In the culture war, libraries with free access to a full range of books can light the way toward psychological peace. They provide us with a mental model for a public sphere in which Americans debate each other as equals to reach a resolution or compromise." - Annalee Newitz

ARTICLE: Libraries Can Help End the Culture Wars. That’s Why They’re Under Fire

(Thanks to my friend and collaborator in supporting our local library, Jeanne Canteen, for the reference.)

Civics

The news feels hopeless; my neighborhood doesn't.

ARTICLE: The Antidote to Despair Is Finding our Role in Community Building

Civics

How shared hardship reveals our innate capacity for belonging, agency, and interdependence

Book: Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

Civics

"Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war. Too many people still expect it to look like war."

INTERVIEW: Rebecca Solnit Says the Left’s Next Hero Is Already Here

Civics

What does it take for a society to grow?

BOOK: A Way of Being