Some pieces that have brought me encouragement and made me think in the past few weeks:
The Power We Use and the Power We Give. (Philip Bump) “Your engagement and your work, not unlike your vote, is a form of power, something you can choose to grant to others. Those others, particularly organizations and companies, accrue that power to use as they see fit.” (As an aside, this is precisely why I have not put my writing on Substack.)
The Courage to Be Decent. (Radley Balko)
“My guess is that this was just a couple officers’ dorky attempt to intimidate me,” Jackson tells me. “But if it’s happened to me, it’s probably happened to other attorneys. So I wanted to reach out to you to get the word out and see how often this is happening. Because it needs to stop.”
Ciclovia: Bogotá, Colombia (Streetfilms) Even if you don’t have any interest in biking, this is an inspiring video. I had the good fortune to witness Ciclovia in person a few months ago. What an example of what the community can accomplish together despite what the government does or does not do. (Also, at no point did I feel unsafe in Bogotá. If you have the opportunity to go, please go.)
you’re still free (Jamelle Bouie) Mr. Bouie writes with conviction, but he’s even more emphatic on video. His comments align with what Timothy Snyder has exhorted: Do not obey in advance.
on persistence vs consistence. (Liz Neeley)
… I believe that two things are all extremely likely at the same time: 1) some of our contributions will make an enormous difference, and 2) many (most?) of our contributions will go absolutely nowhere at all, even the really clever, theoretically sound ones.
Her newsletter, Meeting the Moment, is excellent because she and her team are tracking all the (destructive) actions the federal government is taking towards science. However, she has built a digital community to encourage us to keep going.
Kicking a Nazi out as soon as they walk in. (Reddit)
And then THEY bring friends and the friends bring friends and they stop being cool and then you realize, oh shit, this is a Nazi bar now. And it’s too late because they’re entrenched and if you try to kick them out, they cause a PROBLEM. So you have to shut them down.
Return to Fundamentals. (Paul Jun)
This is where sanity resides. This is the springboard for real progress and mastery. This is where the greats have toiled away entire lifetimes. And in devotion to their craft, they found the path to beautiful, fulfilling lives. Not because they’re more talented or lucky than us, but because they were able to stay sane. To stay focused on what matters.
Maria Yang, MD 