On my short list of things I wish everyone would consider when they speak is this one: You don’t know what you think you know about anything, when it comes to what motivated another to do or say something. One of the greatest sources of division in our society stems from people thinking they know why another person said or did something. For example, in the world of politics, it is not at all uncommon for a Democrat to tell you that a Republican does this or that, “because they hate blacks/immigrants/gays/women/transgenders/children/etc.” It’s not enough to just say a…
Knowing more vs knowing
In my charitable work, I spend a lot of time with young adults. One thing I do quite intentionally is challenge them. I challenge their thinking. I challenge what they think the know. I challenge what they’ve heard. I make them justify what they perceive and what they say. When you do this, either one of two good things can come from it: They either realize their perspective has some holes in it, and I give them something new to consider, or they make a good case for their perception, and they walk away with an affirmation that they…
Season four: episode 789
Yesterday, we found ourselves scrolling through DirecTV when we happened upon the game show “Wheel of Fortune.” A look at the program information included the season and episode. I never thought of game shows in the context of “episodes,” but this most recent episode was season 38, episode 185. That’s more than 7000 episodes over the span of the show. In this binge-watch culture, I wonder if anyone undertook the chore of binge-watching all 7000 episodes of Wheel of Fortune? If you’re looking for something a bit more enlightening and simple, try reading through the archives of The Bubbler….
Tracking your child
This past weekend, a couple I know asked my opinion of putting a phone tracker on their child’s phone. They were thinking of using an app like Life360, which would allow them to follow where their child’s phone is at any one time (which hopefully corresponds to the whereabouts of their child, as well). When my kids were younger, my wife and I had the same conversation, and we concluded it was unnecessary. First off, there’s the very predictable: we never had trackers when we were growing up, and we not only survived, but ended up just fine. But…
Top seven stressors
My friend, who’s a mindfulness professional, was telling me that one of her resource books list the top seven sources of stress as (in no particular order): Getting married or divorced Chronic or serious illness Moving Changing or losing a job Going to prison Death of a loved one Significant financial obligations It struck me that one of these stands out from the others: prison. Unlike the others, going to prison equals a loss of freedom. Unlike the others, you don’t get much say in going to prison (after you made the decision to do whatever it is that…
The devil I know is content
There’s an old saying: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” It speaks to the advantages of working or dealing with a person you don’t like but know well versus someone who is unknown and unpredictable. I think it is this kind of thinking that is largely responsible for the state of the United States today. People are so risk-averse and so afraid of being challenged or uncomfortable that they’d rather just suck it up and deal with what’s happening to them rather than putting their energy toward finding something better. Sitting and suffering is the…
Mask protection conversion
Our local grocery store recently changed it’s mask policy. If you have been vaccinated, you don’t need to wear a mask. I am not vaccinated, nor will I be. So naturally, I was excited to get back to entering the grocery store with no mask on. The residents of the Pacific Northwest did not disappoint. I’ve been in that grocery store five times since they changed their policy. Each time, I was the only person in the store without a mask on. There’s no way to know this, but given the anecdotal evidence and sensibilities (such as they are)…
Ban awards
A rare flip through the television channels took me to a story on BBC America about a woman in Kenya who was using recycled materials to make a very strong and sturdy brick. The story started out by calling attention to all of the plastic in the ocean (apparently an area the size of Texas). It went on to show some massive landfill areas in Kenya which were teeming with buzzards. Meanwhile, I was talking to a friend who’s department at work is moving to a new building they had built on their campus. She was telling me about…
If I were a police officer…
If I were a police officer, and I liked killing unarmed black people, I’d cool it for now and start killing unarmed white people, just to stay in practice. The media would never cover it, and I could pretty much go about my killing of unarmed criminals unabated. Then, when the heat around killing unarmed black people inevitably dies down, I could resume killing hundreds of thousands of millions of unarmed black people without missing a beat.
Did you get your flu shot?
Since when is getting a flu shot so cool? I can’t remember a time when everyone talked with such pride about getting their flu shot. No one talked about it. No one cared. It was just one of those things we took for granted was out there and available. But it seems like every other conversation I hear or am part of includes someone talking about getting their COVID vaccine: Did you get it? Which one are you on? Which brand? How was your reaction to the first one? How was your reaction to the second one? What symptoms…