One thing I might do in 2011 is try to obtain a good balance of dealing with the ever more options for reading and watching [and listening!] that are out there online and elsewhere. An example.
Via an interview on Rachel Maddow, I borrowed a history book, which referenced a somewhat satirical 18th Century novel, which online was flagged for a surprisingly balanced contrast of Christians and Muslims. Benjamin Franklin did something a bit similar by using the imprisonment and slavery of whites by the group later deemed the "Barbary Pirates" to turn the tables on those who say black slavery is good to promote Christianity and the well being of the slaves. Via a gift card, I purchased said book on Amazon for at a used rate [another blog led me to a Kindle purchase] and thought the particular scene strong, but the overall style a bit hard to enjoy.
It's like a commercial that used to be one where a world was imagined where you could access libraries worth of movies and books (I suppose) whenever you wished. We seem to be half-way there. Anyways, two things. It's something that I will have to control a bit this year. And, two, here's a bit on another matter that I heard about via a blog and downloaded on to my Kindle. It is an article on gun control that had a realistic take on how society as a whole (even experts) process the issue, including data, and how this should influence moderate policy solutions. It is pre-Heller, but one example is the suggestion that a recognition of an individual right to own a gun would be balanced with gun registration [a bugaboo of some NRA types]. Or, gun registration and/or licensing would be joined with voting and jury service, showing gun owners that they are respected. Respect being an important issue here:
Well, I need to get back to my Kindle -- I downloaded a free historical romance. Yeah, they have stuff like that. And, while reading reviews of the author's follow-up book, I found a website where they send you free books if you review it online. I would supply a link, but don't want to spread the overload virus!
Via an interview on Rachel Maddow, I borrowed a history book, which referenced a somewhat satirical 18th Century novel, which online was flagged for a surprisingly balanced contrast of Christians and Muslims. Benjamin Franklin did something a bit similar by using the imprisonment and slavery of whites by the group later deemed the "Barbary Pirates" to turn the tables on those who say black slavery is good to promote Christianity and the well being of the slaves. Via a gift card, I purchased said book on Amazon for at a used rate [another blog led me to a Kindle purchase] and thought the particular scene strong, but the overall style a bit hard to enjoy.
It's like a commercial that used to be one where a world was imagined where you could access libraries worth of movies and books (I suppose) whenever you wished. We seem to be half-way there. Anyways, two things. It's something that I will have to control a bit this year. And, two, here's a bit on another matter that I heard about via a blog and downloaded on to my Kindle. It is an article on gun control that had a realistic take on how society as a whole (even experts) process the issue, including data, and how this should influence moderate policy solutions. It is pre-Heller, but one example is the suggestion that a recognition of an individual right to own a gun would be balanced with gun registration [a bugaboo of some NRA types]. Or, gun registration and/or licensing would be joined with voting and jury service, showing gun owners that they are respected. Respect being an important issue here:
Their prominent (and in many respects fabled) role in American history imbues guns with a surfeit of social meanings. For one segment of American society, guns symbolize honor, human mastery over nature, and individual self-sufficiency. By opposing gun control, individuals affirm the value of these meanings and the vision of the good society that they construct. For another segment of American society, however, guns connote something else: the perpetuation of illicit social hierarchies, the elevation of force over reason, and the expression of collective indifference to the well-being of strangers. These individuals instinctively support gun control as a means of repudiating these significations and of promoting an alternative vision of the good society that features equality, social solidarity, and civilized nonagression.Each vision will process constitutional text and history etc. or gun violence etc. in different ways. So, it is important to understand and respect both sides when handling the situation. One good look at this from a teenage perspective is Gunstories: Life-Changing Experiences with Guns. The book has some great photos and examines the many sides of the issue, from hunting to target shooting to those harmed by urban violence, male/female, pro and con.
These competing cultural visions, we will argue, are what drive the gun control debate. They are what dispose individuals to accept certain empirically grounded public-safety arguments and to reject others. Indeed, the meanings that guns and gun control express are sufficient to justify most individuals’ positions on gun control independently of their beliefs about guns and safety.
Well, I need to get back to my Kindle -- I downloaded a free historical romance. Yeah, they have stuff like that. And, while reading reviews of the author's follow-up book, I found a website where they send you free books if you review it online. I would supply a link, but don't want to spread the overload virus!