As you know, I’m a cheerleader for being an active producer vs. a passive consumer and education definitely falls in that active category. (It takes effort to think/process new information!) I’m bringing back the Mother Culture Commonplace Book series to share some of the things I’ve been learning. Here’s what I’ve been reading/watching/listening to lately…
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What is Truth?
Hannah Arendt, who studied totalitarian regimes, said as much in an interview in 1974: “If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer.” But a population that no longer believes anything is robbed of its ability to think and to judge, and ultimately of its capacity to act. As Arendt says, “with such a people, you can then do what you please.” These are the ideal subjects – or the ideal opponents. – We Have Been Harmonized: Life in China’s Surveillance State, p.18
The Consequences of Fast Fashion
Australia’s Most Baffling Missing Persons Case
I’m in the middle of listening to the podcast, The Lady Vanishes. A quick description from the website: “Marion Barter, an Australian mother and teacher, vanished in 1997. She was 51 years old. The ex-wife of Australian Soccer captain Johnny Warren, Marion suddenly quit her job, sold her house and went to England for a year-long holiday. Then she simply vanished. For 25 years her daughter Sally has been searching for her. This is Australia’s most-baffling missing persons case.”
So many questions! How can a person run away from their life, leaving their family wondering if foul play was involved? Does a person have a right to start fresh without telling anyone? How far can an investigation go? Where does it cross the boundaries of privacy?
Sneaky Little Blue Jays
This common songbird sure is beautiful with his blue back and soft white belly. But did you know he has a naughty side? Blue Jays are known to take and eat eggs and tiny chicks of other birds, sometimes even from chickens! I went down a rabbit hole about frustrated homesteaders flabbergasted with the continual issue of pecked eggs. After stakeouts and cameras, they discovered the culprit was none other than a blue jay! So interesting. Another fun blue jay fact: crows are part of the same family (the Corvidae).
All of these are so interesting!