As the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads faster in the United States, my new state, Missouri, has been hit hard and as of today is heading towards a new peak in new cases and hospitalizations, largely because the state’s vaccination rate (~50%) is among the lowest in the country. This, along with the CDC’s new guidance…
Month: July 2021
Insurrection and the Police
This morning I decided to tune into the House select committee testimony on the January 6th capitol insurrection, despite avoiding much of the news about the insurrection over the last 6 months. I surprised myself with how deeply moved I was by the testimony I heard from the four police officers on their experiences. All…
Animal Welfare and Sentient Life
My wife has been making fun of the care and concern I have demonstrating for our new dog by calling me “obsessed.” Am I obsessed? To be honest, probably a little. Two weeks into caring for this particular dog, I have been surprised by how much love, care, and responsibility I feel for her. More…
Superheroes and the State
I wasn’t especially into comic books as a kid, but I’ve been a voracious consumer of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies and television. In 2011, I was struck by a piece of dialogue from Captain America: The First Avenger that seemed to reveal the regressive state-focused politics at the heart of the film. In fact,…
40 Days of Writing
Today I complete 40 days of writing over the course of two calendar months, and I’ve managed to maintain discipline and consistency throughout this period of time, despite a couple of brief interruptions to my schedule of writing 500-800 words a day, five days a week. I reflected on the 10th day that the real…
Teaching Media Literacy
Every year in the course of my teaching I discover that students have been duped by a conspiracy theory or misinformation, typically through social media. From 9/11 conspiracy theories to QAnon and #SaveTheChildren people are susceptible to misinformation and disinformation that alters their relationship to reality. The explosive rise of the internet and various social…
Afghanistan Withdrawal
“We have been at war for your entire life,” I told my classes of mostly 16-year old students a couple of years ago in a unit focused on American involvement in the Middle East. Most of them weren’t that surprised. The truth, at least according to Andrew Bacevich in America’s War for the Greater Middle…
Dogs in American Culture
I’ve been thinking about animal consciousness and suffering even more than usual lately in light of the fact that my wife and I adopted a shelter dog last Friday that we’ve named Bwana. I’ve long expressed my ambivalance about dog ownership, even though I love dogs. They demand a lot of care and attention, their…
Teaching Writing
How did you learn to read and write? Can you tell a story about your literacy? This is a question I ask my students at the start of each year. Every year, I am struck by the diversity of student responses, as well as the varying levels of enthusiasm for both skills. My own memories…
Moving and Adaptation
The last four years I lived in Chicago was the longest period of time I’d lived anywhere since college, and the longest I’d lived in a single house in my whole life. I was sad to leave. Although I probably won’t ever live in Chicago again, it felt like home and I certainly would have…