A biographer of Brooklyn Bridge designer John Roebling expected to write about a genius. He also ended up writing about a complete weirdo, and how one man could be both.
In a country with segments of people who deny science, act on revelation, see regular events as either conspiratorial or supernatural, COVID-19 offers a platform for misinformation and agitation.
An oral historian of medical care in the South observes that the current crisis shows weaknesses in the fabric of society that would have long been obvious to policymakers if they were more inclined to listen to ordinary people.
The U.S. diplomats who left China in 1949 left oral histories that serve as warning how how misunderstandings, misplaced hopes, and missed opportunities can poison relations between great powers.
Viewers have embraced the ESPN Documentary "The Last Dance" as an escape and the best sports "fix" around. But its framing of leadership reflects a serious issue: the limits of how American media presents history.
We should definitely celebrate people like Henry Langrehr, the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne, and the other troops who fought with them. But we should also spend a moment thanking people like his wife, who made their triumph possible.
Classical histories are in vogue as explanations for the Coronavirus-fueled tensions between the United States and China. A political science scholar argues that an influential theory gets Thucydides backwards.
In a crisis, unity and cooperation have been the positive sides of consumer politics. But they have always fought against price gouging, suspicion and stereotyping.
The Trump administration's adoption of immigration restrictions during the COVID crisis echoes the racial and economic agenda of the white settler regime in Rhodesia.
JFK's diligent campaigning in West Virginia in 1960 overcame the state's suspicion of his Catholic faith and later put Appalachia on the nation's policy agenda.
There is ample evidence Booth declared his intention--complete with racist invective-- to kill Lincoln after hearing the President state his willingness to make black Union soldiers citizens. The quote helps keep Booth's motives in focus for students of history.
The Greatest Generation won a world war and fed the hungry. We need that same spirit today as we face the Coronavirus menace and a world hunger crisis.
Donald Trump is standing athwart the scientific process and shouting "Look at Me!" His claims to discern what science is "real" are making the coronavirus crisis far more dangerous.
Tiger King viewers should look past the show's outrageous elements to consider the political, economic and legal factors that shape queer life in the American south.
Does the handling of the coronavirus mark a failure of government policy? The answer depends what the administration wanted from the crisis. If his goal was to concentrate power, Trump may be succeeding.
A virus doesn't discriminate. But our social structures, systemic biases, and policy choices have made some populations particularly vulnerable. This pandemic has changed us. We must make changes so this tragedy, like the Holocaust, isn't repeated.
0 comments:
Post a Comment