Little Free Library Surprise

 I ordered some books online recently, one of which was Alasdair Reynolds' Eversion. I've long been a fan of his somewhat more realistic take on the whole "space opera" genre. The realism no-doubt comes from his day job as an astrophysicist. 

I mention this particular book purchase because Jeanine saw it on the bed yesterday and had a deja-vu moment, along the lines of "I just saw that book somewhere recently." 

It turns out somebody had put a copy of it in our Little Free Library in the front yard. So, I could literally have walked out the front door and picked the book out of the library and it would have taken less time than clicking the keyboard button to order it. Not to mention less money. In my defense, usually when new stuff shows up in the library it's self-help for the helpless, religious pamphlets, or some other similarly unreadable tripe. I'm glad at least one nearby person has some taste. I just wish I'd noticed sooner.

We took a little trip to put some books in another free library today as well, mostly because Jeanine had noticed one that needed filling. 

Outraged Equals Engaged

 I don't know much about how the various social media and news algorithms work when it comes to the creation of personalized news feeds, but I have a sneaking suspicion that once the powers that be, whether they are human or AI, know which buttons to push, the user is fed a steady diet of outrage. Does a certain topic royally piss you off. Here, have some more! Sure, there is plenty to be outraged about, but when one's go-to news source or social media feed becomes like a nail in the foot, the whole thing becomes inconducive to mental health. 

I bring this up because I clicked on a link today that was the opposite of outrage. Instead, it was a bunch of stories about how teachers go above and beyond for their students, often in heartwarming ways. It was a powerful reminder that amongst all of the teeth gnashing and finger pointing, there is inspiration and humanity. Sure, these "suggested for you" articles are clickbait, but I'm excellent at tuning out ads. The point is, after reading the article, I felt better. 

Being a teacher (well, technically a para-educator), I found inspiration. I already know from personal experience that teachers have a lot of power and education is crucially important. I've lost track of the number of times that parents have approached me and shared how their kids sing my praises, not to mention the letters students send after coming to our science camp program. 

On the outrage side of the coin is the current right-wing attempt to dumb down education, to sweep so much of our history and diversity under the moth-eaten carpet of ignorance, to squish all of the variously shaped pegs into the round holes of the dominant paradigm. 

I will continue to do my small part to fight this attempt. Despite what some people think, we are not a Christian nation and most definitely are not a playground for angry white men. I've never considered myself a patriot (at a national level, the concept is just too abstract to mean much) and I've never paid much attention to the 4th of July as a meaningful holiday, and this year is no exception. The only difference is that with each passing year it seems like I have more company in feeling this way.

The antidote is to continue to find positive inspiration and continue to act on it. Be kind to each other and to yourself. We're all in this together.

Typed to the tune of:  Teleplasmiste "Science < > Religion"