Among the options for ways to learn about and experience the larger world, travel is the best choice. If you go to enough places on several continents you begin to develop an appreciation for the diversity of human choices and conditions.
If you cannot travel, you can read books, watch films and try to meet those in your community who come from different countries and backgrounds. There also are ethnic restaurants, festivals and parades.
And then there’s sports, which brings me to the World Cup.
In our house there is a hand-drawn wall chart listing every matchup for all the teams playing in this year’s World Cup competition. My grandchildren drew it and filled in their predictions for all the games before the first match had been played.
Five of them did this by debating the merits of each squad from around the world, based on their knowledge as soccer players themselves and as fans.
We’ve had the games playing on TV all weekend. At one point, I found myself sleepily watching the match between Australia and Türkiye broadcast in Spanish with my 15-year-old granddaughter, who is fluent in French.
We both understand just enough Spanish to sort of follow the commentary, which was exuberant and fast-paced.
For those uninterested in the World Cup, or in sports generally, I can understand the irritation at all the hype.
But then again, this is the whole world coming together to play games and cheer their teams on in peace, not war, which is a lot better than the alternative.
HEADLINES:
Iran and US agree deal to end war as Israel says its forces will stay in Lebanon (BBC)
U.S. and Iran reach deal to extend ceasefire and open strait (Axios)
U.S.-Iran deal explained: What we know — and what remains unresolved (CNBC)
Trump Claims Strait Will Be ‘Permanently Toll-Free’ Under Agreement With Iran (NYT)
Trump Celebrates While America Capitulates (Atlantic)
A deal is only the beginning of the end of the US-Iran war (Economist)
So Much for Leaving Abortion Up to the States (Atlantic)
The White House UFC fights are a spectacle. And a reflection of America. (WP)
Hospitals See Diseases Resurge as Vaccinations Decline (NYT)
Russia Is Rich in Ballistic Missiles. Ukraine Is Short of Ways to Stop Them. (NYT)
Pilot and 11 skydivers dead after Missouri plane crash, officials say (CNN)
Trump at 80: A President ‘Really Uncomfortable’ With Aging (NYT)
As UFOs go mainstream, the jury is out on what the existence of alien life might mean for religion (AP)
Germany and Japan Are Rearming Again, 80 Years After World War II (NYT)
Why American Christianity Ended Up Like This (New Yorker)
US asks Anthropic to block global access to top AI models: Why it matters (Al Jazeera)
The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes (NYT)
Why it’s nearly impossible to build a robot without China (Japan Times)
For centuries, math has been a human endeavor. Does AI mean it’s over? (WP)
The skills people still perform better than AI, according to workplace experts (AP)
Study: Crying Not Linked To What You Said But The Way You Said It (Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment