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Hands Off and On
To My Elected Officials and Other Members of Congress: I was one of thousands in Chicago, and millions across the country, who spent Saturday afternoon sending a message. This message to the Trump administration was that we’ve already had enough, and that we’re prepared to stand for the preservation of our political principles and values.…
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Conversations and Conflicts
I had hopes for a recent Chicago Public Library event, which was co-sponsored by the Clarence Darrow Commemorative Committee, about the 1925 Scopes trial and banned books. I didn’t expect such a sparse audience, which given the venue might have surprised the organizers as well. Nonetheless, I settled into a seat and later focused on…
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Seductive Sirens
I wanted to like Chris Hayes’s (2025) new book. Instead, I found myself wanting more from it. Hayes compares the commodification of labor in the nineteenth century to the commodification of attention today. In doing so, he distinguishes among voluntary, involuntary, and social attention (27ff) and contrasts boredom and idleness (59ff) before considering the deep…
“There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don’t expect you to save the world I do think it’s not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”
–Nikki Giovanni