Blake Wilson, over at the Arts Beat (NYT), discusses the upcoming reviews of 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day. Wilson describes the book this way: The book is an anthology of sorts: Mr. Lynskey picks a few dozen protest songs and talks about them in terms [...]
Powerful video from the BBC on the Cairo protests.
Cairo has rightly grabbed the world’s attention. While there has been some violence, and certainly things are very tense, it is clear that with the presence of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, that continued direct, non-violent action [...]
That’s a rather startling title to a post. But I have to ponder the weird connection between today’s class and the deliberate plane crash this morning in Austin, TX. The pilot of the plane was angry at the government and its historic inability or reluctance to treat its citizens fairly. You may read his letter, [...]
We had a rollicking time in class today. Heather, on of our TA’s, gave a great follow-up presentation on argumentation. But the “star” of the day was “himself”! That one: Mr. Thoreau. I admit I got a tad bit carried away. But it was for a good cause: just to make Thoreau “come alive”.
One of the things that inspires me about Socrates, Thoreau, Gandhi, and King is that they were able to speak truth to power. There had to have been times when it was difficult; we know there were times when it was dangerous. What we’ll be able to learn from them this semester is yet to [...]
This from CNN about the protests in Iran: “I’m afraid but … it’s not a good way just to sit at home and do nothing,” the protester, who asked to be identified only as “Hesam” for safety reasons, told CNN. “If I want to change the condition, if I want to have a better life, [...]
Having been immersed this semester in discussions of civil disobedience, it’s impossible for me, at least, to not keep Socrates and King in mind when I learn of social unrest and injustice in the world. Would an Iranian Socrates willingly allow himself to be taken to Evin prison? I admit this hypothetical is a difficult [...]
As most of your know there was a student protest on campus. Students occupied the Business Building and some blocked traffic on 19th Avenue. I felt a twinge of (Gator) pride coupled with concern. I often give an example of blocking traffic on 19th as an example of civil disobedience. I wondered whether any of [...]
We talked today about Thoreau’s comments about political majorities. This made me think of Nelson Mandela and apartheid South Africa. Imprisoned 27 years yet Mandela says: “They took the best years of my life but they could not take my mind and heart — I would not let them.” A new comic book, er, graphic [...]
