(This one is for my hero.)
“Karl Marx was right, socialism works, it is just that he had the wrong species”
―
The Ants
So a while back I developed this theory about humanity, which I'll get to in a minute. But first, Tuesday was not really a news day for me. There was something much more deeply personal on the agenda.
My youngest, Julia, is graduating from college later this month and she gave a thesis presentation on restorative justice, one of her passions. She chose to argue how this process might be enhanced through art and yoga -- two more of her passions. Her focus Tuesday was on both the people victimized by crimes and their victimizers.
Julia has always been a quiet presence in any group, and perhaps that is why when she does speak people tend to pay close attention. She takes the hardest subjects straight on with an unusual diligence; when she expresses an opinion, it's thoughtful and original.
From an early age she has also been a visual artist; she attended a boarding school for artists when in high school., and her own art almost always amplifies what she expresses with words.
She speaks softly, with unusual hand gestures, which helps her weave her case gracefully, poetically, with a surprising forcefulness. Her words resonate.
Her mother, brothers and I were watching from out here, a continent away. When she reached the centerpiece of her presentation, she unveiled a beautiful, moving painting she had created portraying the survivors of sexual violence sitting in a circle, supporting each other, trying to heal. It brought tears to our eyes.
As her parent, when I look at this strong, lovely young woman I naturally still see the little girl she used to be. Always independent, determined and tough, she also has stayed modest, kind and loving. As I watched her present her case, it was like I was in an actual room with the audience present physically. You could have heard a pin drop.
It was a compelling performance by a young woman very much on her own terms.
After she had finished, there was silence for a moment and then members of the audience began to speak up. It was clear that she had moved many of them deeply. And it was also obvious that these fellow students and faculty members, none of whom I have ever met, love and respect her deeply as we do.
I was too choked up to say anything. Initially, I felt an immense sense of pride, but then something deeper, more universal.
What she was arguing for is a world we can only aspire to, but it will come to pass if we put our best selves forward in a concerted fashion; by listening and really hearing each other.
Hers is the voice of youth, yes, but also the wisdom of ages. And that's what humanity needs now if we are to survive.
***
Okay, back to my theory:
By a whisker, we humans are a little more generous than selfish, a bit kinder than meaner, more honest than dishonest, more trusting than suspicious, more social than antisocial, more heroic than cowardly.
If you insist on the math, let's put it at 50.1% v. 49.9%.
Think about it. It's gotta be true because otherwise we'd be extinct by now. We're pretty much the only species that kills each other, enslaves one another, and steals each other's possessions and dreams. Okay, there are some other stinker species, granted, and also of course I'm not the first person to come up with this theory. But we seem to still have a fighting chance to save our future on this planet long enough to develop the technology to migrate elsewhere.
I remind myself of this belief of mine whenever the dark side shows up in our public sphere, and while I'm on the dark side, do you know what is the worst human quality of Donald Trump? There's such a long list you're forgiven for overlooking it. But it's this: That he hired people over and over and found excuses not to pay them. Instead he cheated them out of their rightful pay. He is a rotten human being, a thief.
There's gotta be a special place in hell for men like him.
Him aside, most of us are made up of slightly more good stuff than bad stuff, even though we all have our moments of selfishness, mean words or thoughts, unkind or cowardly deeds. So what can we do about that?
I think I know. We can draw each other out of the shadows with a word of encouragement here, or a tiny gesture there. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, I'll be hopeful for you if you'll be hopeful for me.
***
The news:
* F.D.A. Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine for Children 12 to 15 (NYT)
* Virus Variant in India May Be More Transmissible, Says W.H.O. -- The World Health Organization said Monday that the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus, which has spread throughout India is now a “variant of concern,” and may be fueling a rise in infections. (Reuters)
* Federal judge denies NRA attempt to declare bankruptcy (WP)
* How big is the $76 billion budget surplus announced by California Gov. Gavin Newsom? Bigger than the entire state budgets of all but 3 states: NY, FL and TX and roughly the size of Oregon's state budget. So, very big. (Scott Shafer, KQED/Twitter)
* Drought: Gov. Newsom expands drought emergency to most of California, including parts of Bay Area. (S.J. Mercury News)
* Poll: Most in U.S. who remain unvaccinated need convincing (AP)
* Capitol Police must make major cultural shift to confront rising threats, inspector general says (WP)
* Uber, Lyft to Provide Free Rides to Covid-19 Vaccine Sites Until July 4 (WSJ)
* Reaching Back To The New Deal, Biden Proposes A Civilian Climate Corps (NPR)
* Arizona state Sen. Paul Boyer (R), who initially backed the controversial recount of November 2020 election votes in Maricopa County, now says he regrets his support of the "ridiculous" operation. A growing army of Arizonans are criticizing the recount operation by a private company that targets only races won by Democrats in the county that includes Phoenix. [HuffPost]
* Scores of dead bodies found floating in India’s Ganges River (AP)
* F.B.I. Identifies Group Behind Pipeline Hack -- The attack by DarkSide, a relatively new criminal group believed to have roots in Eastern Europe, exposed the remarkable vulnerability of key American infrastructure.(NYT)
* Airlines are battling a scourge of passengers traveling with falsified Covid-19 health certificates, with test results easy to manipulate. Because of that, vaccine cards may be coming. (WSJ)
* No New COVID-19 Deaths Reported In Most Of U.K., As Restrictions Set To Ease (NPR)
* The biggest threat to America is the Republican break with reality (WP)
* More than 1 million Americans have signed up for coverage at HealthCare.gov since February, taking advantage of an extended open enrollment period and new financial assistance that the Biden administration put into place as part of the government's COVID-19 response. The Affordable Care Act is working better these days and reaching more people. (HuffPost)
* China’s ‘Long-Term Time Bomb’: Falling Births Stunt Population Growth -- Only 12 million babies were born last year, the lowest number of births since 1961, providing fresh evidence of a looming demographic crisis that could complicate Beijing’s ambitions. (NYT)
* Warren, Sanders Call For Expanding Food Aid To College Students (NPR)
* Biden administration approves first large-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. (WP)
* How climate change may lead to the use of more pesticides in California’s farming regions, increasing runoff that could pollute the state’s waterways. (Inside Climate News)
* The style 911 is acceptable in all references for the U.S. emergency call number: He called 911 to report a crash. No hyphen in any use: a 911 call problem. For the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 9/11 is acceptable in all references. (AP Stylebook)
* Rock Looked Way Cooler Wet (The Onion)
***
For my hero, Julia Matthiessen Weir, and for all of our daughters everywhere:
"You Are So Beautiful"
Sung by Joe Cocker
Songwriters: Bruce Carleton Fisher / Billy Preston
To me
You are so beautiful
To me
Can't you see
You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so beautiful
To me
To me
You are so wonderful
To me
Can't you see
You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so wonderful
To me
To me
You are so beautiful
To me
Can't you see
You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so beautiful
To me
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