SOCIETY – Page 7 – REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE

CULTURAL CONFLICT

How could America expect to occupy Iraq for a mere 8 years and 8 months and resolve cultural differences? It could not and did not.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Iraq War

Author: John Keegan

Narrated By: Simon Vance

John Keegan (Author, 1934-2012, English historian, lecturer, and journalist died at age 78. A recognized authority on warfare.)

John Keegan reflects on the history of Iraq with an analysis of the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, British control of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul led to the formation of Iraq by the League of Nations under the supervision of the British. Great Britain offered nation-state independence to Iraq in 1932. Keegan explains early Iraqi leaders failed to centralize control of the newly formed country of Iraq. He argues that failure allowed an authoritarian, unscrupulous, and brutal leader named Saddam Hussein to take control of the country from Ahmed Hassan al-Baker in 1979. Saddam used fear, violence, and murder to eliminate rivals to create a cult of personality that made him look strong and defiant in the eyes of his countrymen and the world.

Saddam Hussein (1937-2006)

Keegan argues Saddam instinctively combined his brutality with the pragmatism of “might makes right” to take control of Iraq’s fragmented leadership. Not since Hitler, Keegan suggests, has a leader managed to combine tyranny with fear to take command of a nation. Saddam magnified regional instability and created international disorder with ruthless brutality, reinforced by a military that chose to follow him out of fear and reward that is gathered from rapine.

Keegan explains Saddam maintains his position through force but ultimately loses it because of his brutal rule, lies, and poor judgement. Saddam dramatically murders or tortures political rivals to create fear among Iraqi citizens and military henchmen who fear his rath. He initiates a war with Iran in 1980 with the intent of toppling the Shah because he viewed him as a threat to his regime. His plan was to install the Ayatollah Khomeini which seems counter intuitive in view of Khomeini’s religious zealotry; particular considering Saddam’s earlier offer to assassinate him while he lived as an exile in Iraq. Keegan implies Saddam’s decision to support Khomeini as Iran’s leader is similar to the lie Saddam creates about Kuwait slant-drilling into Iraqi oil fields to steal billions in oil. One doubts he ever intended to promote Khomeini to rule Iran. As history shows, the majority of the international community did not believe Saddam’s lie about oil theft and were opposed to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. A disastrous and unresolved eight-year war was fought with Iran and eventually Saddam lost any significant support for occupation of Kuwait.

Saddam rules Iraq for nearly 24 years. One wonders how he ruled as long as he did, just as many Americans wonder how Trump could be re-elected by a majority of American voters.

Considering Saddam’s poor judgement in regard to Khomeini’s power and his belief that Iraq could take over another country without international opposition shows how deluded a dictator can be. Keegan suggests Saddam made too many miscalculations. First among them is the weaknesses he created by presuming that fear of him among his own military force would maintain support of Iraq’s 400,000 soldiers. Saddam is essentially abandoned by his military leaders when Iraq is confronted by an international force to oppose Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (73% were American soldiers but 34 other countries participated). Not surprisingly, bridges were not destroyed by Saddam’s military as they retreated, and Saddam’s military leaders abandoned their posts.

Keegan explains Saddam’s fall came from a collapse of the illusions, fears, and myths that surrounding his rise to power.

One wonders if the same may happen in Iran in the 21st century. It seems dependent on Iranian people deciding on whether the governance Khomeini insists upon is illusory and the fear Khomeini’s ordered murders, incarcerations, and beliefs have alienated enough Iranian citizens. Because Iran’s governance may be more about religious belief and integrity rather than arbitrary rule, one becomes skeptical. Iran may remain as it is but with a new religious ruler.

Keegan tries to explain America’s mistakes in Iraq without being too partisan.

Keegan offers a clear understanding of Saddam’s rule of Iraq. America made many mistakes because of not understanding the culture of Iraq and presumed their culture would accept Americanization. Tribalism scented with religion exists in Iraq. Without engaging that reality, America could not constructively influence change. The dismantling of Iraq’s military negatively impacted a critical infrastructure that understood the indigenous culture and may have aided American influence in Iraq. By ignoring the dignity of the Iraqi people and the importance of tribe loyalties and religious beliefs, America stubbled through years of destructive occupation. Other authors have noted how tribalism influenced how Iraqi informers had their own agendas for accusing Iraqi tribes of fomenting conflict. Iraq unraveled into insurgency and chaos from which it is still trying to recover.

It has taken nearly a quarter of a century for American government to begin healing the relationship between Indians and 1776 settlers of this country. The possibility of changing Iraqi society in a less than 10 years seems unlikely and, for that matter, inappropriate. Cultural difference is not a disease.

Change is difficult and nearly impossible when cultural differences are not clearly understood and taken into account when a foreign country occupies a native country’s territory. How could America expect to occupy Iraq for a mere 8 years and 8 months and resolve cultural differences? It could not and did not.

VANISHING WORLD

Murata’s satire infers obsession with sex for pleasure, child rearing collectivization, gender dysphoria, and pregnancy equalization are pathways to societal destruction.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Vanishing World (A Novel)

Author: Sayaka Murata

Narrated By: Nancy Wu

Sayaka Murata (Author, Japanese novelist.)

Sayaka Murata’s subject is clearly revealed in its title, “Vanishing World”. “Vanishing World” is a provocative assessment of how sexual relationship and sex education has changed. Murata satirically reveals how human reproduction, objectification of life, motherhood, and technology may dehumanize society.

Murata’s fictional story is highly informative in regard to sexual difference and similarity between men and women.

In one sense, Murata’s fictional story is highly informative in regard to sexual difference and similarity between men and women. As a reader/listener, Murata offers a detailed description of the physical difference between the sexes. Many who think they know something about sexual difference will find the author’s candor enlightening. However, her depiction of social relationship is off-putting with a satirical exaggeration of socio/sexual objectification.

Murata writes about a single parent family with a young daughter who lives with her mother and is nearing the age of puberty.

(Though not mentioned in Murata’s story, single family homes in America have grown by nearly 30% in the 21st century.) The main character’s name is Amane and Murata’s story is about Amane’s sexual awakening and how she views social relationship. Amane is infatuated with an animated male character on television. She imagines being married to this character before puberty but holds this character in her mind throughout childhood and later life.

Murata suggests reproduction may evolve into a preferential desire for artificial insemination rather than sexual intercourse between a man and woman.

This idea feeds into a listener/reader’s mind as a diminishment of the need for emotional attachment to the opposite sex for procreation. Sex becomes detached from procreation, evolving into only “hooking up” for sexual stimulation and/or personal gratification. Murata infers desire is no longer needed for procreation but only to experience intercourse as an emotional and physical pleasure. Consequently, it seems perfectly natural to transfer sexual desire to a fictional character because it becomes unnecessary to have emotional attachment to humans when a figment of one’s imagination is available.

Murata creates a bizarre world.

The bizarro world that Murata creates is an extension of a belief that society is becoming less attached to their humanity. Marriage, human relationship, and motherhood are replaced by mindful personal’ inwardness and endless pursuit of physical stimulation without emotional entanglement. By extension, Murata suggests science will create wombs for men so that the difference in sexes equalizes childbirth and care of children. Caregiving becomes bureaucratic and collective because caregiving is no longer personalized.

Murata suggests that a new system of childcare will evolve into collective training camps for working parents who are too self-absorbed to raise their own children.

Collective childcare disconnects parents from the management and development of their children. The sterility of conception by artificial insemination, collective childcare, and social acceptance of multiple sex partners diminishes both familial relations and child development. Birthing and raising children becomes a clinical process, i.e., less personal with both men and women capable of experiencing pregnancy and delivery; all without responsibility or obligation for childcare.

In some sense, this satire illustrates the negative potential of socio/sexual equality.

Murata’s story ends with the birth of their first child from a man who is Amane’s husband. She is torn over not being able to take the baby home because the child is already being “cared for” in a ward meant to raise and nurture all newly born children. A final point is made in the story by a visit from Alane’s mother after the birth. She asks Amane where the child is, and Alane explains the child will not be raised by her and her husband. Alane’s mother is aghast. Her mother falls to the floor and dies without any apparent familial concern for her sudden collapse and presumably, death. The next thing to happen is a visit from one of the children born in this new world. Alane chooses to have sex with him and the story ends.

“Vanishing World” implies 21st century science, organizational bureaucracy, and social change threatens survival of humanity. Murata’s satire infers obsession with sex for pleasure, child rearing collectivization, gender dysphoria, and pregnancy equalization are pathways to society’s collapse.

SUCCESS

Creating a different and better self is as Neal Armstong noted “…one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Atomic Habits (Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.)

Author: James Clear

Narrated By: James Clear

James Clear (Author, earned a biomechanics degree from Denison University in 2008.)

James Clear begins his “self-help” book with a baseball accident. He overcomes a serious injury in his high school years caused by a baseball bat that flies out of a teammates’ practice swing that smashes him between the eyes. It crushes his nose and cracks his skull, causing a brain bleed that nearly ends his life. His recovery leads him to a career as a performance coach for athletes and executives.

Quality of life.

“Atomic Habits” is how he turned that accident into several surprisingly simple insights into how one can improve their life. He suggests it is not a self-help book that tells you what to do but to understand who you believe you are. If you think of yourself as an athlete. you choose your sport and develop the tools that make you that athlete. The author chose baseball as his athletic ambition despite his accident. Clear explains he recovered but failed to make the baseball team in his return to high school.

Clear explains his baseball failure in high school is not because of willpower but because he needed more practice to become what he wished to be.

He went to Denison University. It had a team that gave him the environment he needed to further develop the baseball skills he learned in high school. With further practice and this new baseball environment he became part of Denison University’s team. He became a baseball player; not just a baseball player but the team captain and starting pitcher for Denison University in 2005. Clear’s desire to be a baseball athlete, his practicing the tools needed, and being in a baseball environment were keys to his accomplishments.

Clear notes habits are not goals.

The point Clear makes are that habits are not goals, but habits make up a system for accomplishment of who one wishes to be. Accomplishment is a process, not an end. Practice is a process that has plateaus where, at times, it appears one is not making progress, but continued practice will have breakthroughs if one persists. Clear explains the breakthroughs change how one sees the world, who they are, and their place in it.

First, one must choose who they want to be.

Clear suggests one can change their life by choosing who they want to be. If an introvert wants to be an extrovert, then they need to identify themselves as one who connects with others. To connect with others, one can choose to be an extrovert and be curious about another person rather than think of themselves as bad at small talk. Design a system of connection that is natural and not forced. Building small, intentional interactions with others can be built upon to reinforce extroversion.

You are who you choose to be.

Much of what Clear argues is that one has to change their identity, develop appropriate habits to reinforce a chosen identity, use tools that are obvious and easy to use that reinforce who you have chosen to be and celebrating your successes in redefining your identity. Creating a different and better self is as Neal Armstong noted “…one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

GOTHIC TALE

The climax of “Modern Gothic” is where myth enters Moreno-Carcia’s story. The fundamental truths of colonization are revealed in her creative story while its denouement is an entertaining explosion of imagination.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Mexican Gothic

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Narrated By: Frankie Corzo

Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Author, Mexican/Canadian novelist, editor and publisher.)

Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic” is a chilling story of colonization, eugenics, ecological contamination, mystical beliefs, and control of society by men. The author chooses the name of Doyle as an English family that exploits the Mexico’ silver mining industry in earlier centuries. A dynasty is created by generations of Doyle’s. They created a colonial manor called “High Place” from which to rule a crumbling empire. As colonizers they capitalize on Mexico’s silver deposits by exploiting native Mexicans’ land and labor to grow their mining operation. The wealth of local citizens is lost to the English foreigners who keep wages low to increase the wealth of the Doyle family.

**Over generations, the Doyle men married local women that were related to each other. A common practice of royalty before the twentieth century.**

They wished to maintain the genetic purity of the Doyle bloodline by having future Doyles marry genetic descendants of Mexican women that had been their wives. This is not greatly different than the experience of royal marriages in European cultures. The consequence of that marriage tradition is that recessive genetic mutations become more prominent in offspring. Children were more susceptible to diseases like cystic fibrosis and had higher incidents of developmental and cognitive disorders. This is one of many threads of meaning in “Mexican Gothic” because one of these descendants becomes a murderer of Doyle family members and the current Doyle generation seems socially dysfunctional. Added to that dysfunction is the Doyle family’s diminishing wealth.

An arranged marriage is a lynch pin to the story.

The heroine, Noemi, is the daughter of a wealthy Mexican family. She is sent to investigate a letter that was received by her father from a young woman that marries a Doyle. She is a cousin of Noemi’s. The marriage is arranged in part because of her father, and he feels something is wrong and wants Noemi to visit the Doyle family to find what the mysterious letter means. Soon after Noemi arrives, she begins to have hallucinatory dreams. Listener/readers find the hallucinations are because of spores that are in the bedroom of the deteriorating Doyle house. A clever thread of meaning in Moreno-Garcia’s story is ecological contamination that comes from colonization. As one nation colonizes another, it inevitably brings different plants and animals that are not indigenous to the country they are colonizing. The author notes a fungus is growing in the Doyle household that may have come from the original colonizers.

The penultimate theme in “Modern Gothic” is the creation of myths that compound the horrific events that occur in the Doyle house.

From the history of murders in the Doyle household, to hallucinatory dreams, to incestuous relationships, to the gloom and doom of the story, to a myth about the age of the Doyle patriarch, Moreno-Garcia offers a climax to her story that vivifies reader/listener’s imagination. The climax of “Modern Gothic” is where myth enters Moreno-Carcia’s story. The fundamental truths of colonization are revealed in her creative story while its denouement is an entertaining explosion of imagination.

AMERICAN LIFE

Governmental and educational institutions are the foundations of Democracy. They must stand and support the right to free speech without committing, allowing, or condoning violence in the exercise of that right. (Of course, this is easy to say but difficult to follow because of the loss of emotional control by protectors of the public and/or protesters.)

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Coddling of the American Mind (How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure)

Author: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff

Narrated By: Jonathan Haidt

This is an interesting book written by a social psychologist and a free speech advocate. The authors suggest the focus for parents of Generation Z have, in some ways, become overly protective of their children. They argue– Gen Z’ parents are not addressing the mental health issues caused by this technological age. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff argue society has become more attuned to children’s protection than the reality of living in a world of diversity.

With the societal change that has accompanied the birth and maturation of Generation Z, immersive tech like AR and VR, along with AI and smart devices, is having profound effects on society.

Haidt and Lukianoff suggest parents focus too much on keeping their children safe to the point of stifling their intellectual growth. The example they give is of the mother who is publicly ridiculed for allowing her 8-year-old son to find his way back home from a city market by mass transit. She prepares him for the excursion with a transit schedule, pocket money, a cell phone, and general information he needs to find his way home. The boy successfully finds his way home and allegedly expresses happiness about what he views as an adventure and accomplishment.

Undoubtedly, there is some truth to the authors’ suggestion that parents are too protective of their children. Thinking of a single mother who has to work but has children at home. Many single parents cannot afford a babysitter, so leaving their children during the day is not uncommon. Single parent families do the best they can but if children are old enough to fill a cereal bowl for breakfast, they are expected to take care of themselves.

John Walsh (Became a child protection advocate, producer, and actor after the murder of his son.)

On the other hand, the writers note the horrible tragedy of John Walsh who’s six-year-old son is kidnapped in 1981. The six-year-old is found two weeks later with a severed head. Though child kidnappings rarely end in such a horrific way, one can understand why many parents became highly protective of their children after the 1980s. Haidt and Lukianoff acknowledge the horrific murder of Walsh’s son, but history shows unsupervised children that are harmed is much less than 1 percent of the dependent children population. What the authors suggest is that some of the overprotection of children since the Walsh tragedy in 1981 has been counterproductive.

Allergy immunity.

As an example of over protection, the authors suggest peanut butter allergies have risen because of inordinate fear by the public. They suggest that early life exposure to peanuts would have provided immunity and fear of exposure is the proximate cause for today’s rise in allergic reactions. Putting aside the theory of a human body’s creation of developing an allergy immunity, the frustration one has with monitoring a child’s life experience is in knowing where to draw the line between reasonable supervision and overprotectiveness.

**The authors infer the widespread rise in stress, anxiety, and depression in America is partly due to overprotectiveness.**

Undoubtedly suppression of free inquiry and play diminishes the potential of a child’s development. Haidt and Lukianoff argue overprotection has contributed to a rising anxiety and depression in Generation Z and society in general. The authors cite national surveys that show increased rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm. They note hospitalization and suicide rates are increasing based on self-inflicted injuries among teens with sharper rises among females. They note colleges and universities are reporting higher demand for mental health services.

Whether stress, anxiety, and depression are because of over protection remains a question in this listener’s mind. One suspects that children are cared for in too many different ways for research to conclude that stress, anxiety, and depression increases due to overprotection. It is more likely due to parental inattention because of work that takes them away from home and personal fulfillment in their own lives which are only partly satisfied by being parents.

Rather than parental overprotection, it seems intensified social media and smartphone use accelerates stress, anxiety, and depression in children and society in general.

Constant connectivity, online comparison, and cyberbullying are having outsized effects on emotional stability. The authors suggest overprotective parenting compounds the negative consequence of connectivity by depriving children of experience that can build their resistance to anxiety and depression. That may be partly true but not the whole story. Smart phone screen addiction takes one away from day-to-day real-life experience. The idea being that experiencing life’s failures and successes builds resistance to anxiety and depression whereas smart screens are pictures of life not lived by the person who is looking at them. Smart phones open the Pandora’s box of judgement which can either inflate or deflate one’s sense of themselves.

A large part of Haidt’s and Lukianoff’s book addresses the public confrontations occurring on campuses and the streets of America that are becoming violent demonstrations rather than expressions of opinion.

They suggest street demonstrations can be used constructively if participants would commit themselves to open dialogue and diverse viewpoints. Participants need to be taught cognitive behavioral techniques that can mitigate emotional reactions while building on psychological resilience. Rather than reacting emotionally to what one disagrees with, participants should focus on diverse viewpoints that allow for disagreement but do not become physical conflicts. We are all an “us”, i.e. not an “us and them’. Confrontation can be the difference between a white supremacist plowing into a crowd in Charleston, South Carolina and non-violent protest by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. or Václav Havel. People like President Trump see the world as “us vs them” rather than one “blue marble” hoping to find another that can support human civilization.

Peaceful protests are an opportunity to understand human diversity without losing one’s humanity. Race, creed, and ethnicity are who we are and what we believe. Protesters should not be used as an excuse for violence but for understanding. Of course, this is a big ask which is too often unachievable.

The authors believe humanity can do better by allowing children to learn from their experiences while accepting diversity or difference of opinion without violence. Children and adults can be taught by experience and guidance to manage stress. Free play, risk-taking and real-world problem-solving come at every age and they can make a difference in human life. This listener only partially agrees with the author’s belief that “helicopter parenting” is interfering with free play and reasonable levels of risk taking. Democratic cultures need to reaffirm free speech as a mandate; with violence being unacceptable on every side of the aisle.

Anti-Trump demonstration.

EQUALITY

Discrimination is certainly based on the color of one’s skin but also on gender, ethnicity, and income inequality. Those nations that embrace equality of opportunity for all will be the leaders of the future in the age of technology

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Caste (The Origins of Our Discontent)

Author: Isabel Wilkerson

Narrated By: Robin Miles

Isabel Wilkerson (Author, American journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1994 while serving as the Chicago Bureau Chief for the NYTimes.)

Isabel Wilkerson has written a provocative book about what she characterizes as a rigid social hierarchy in America that undermines the ideals of democracy. Wilkerson weaves her personal life and the history of black experience with the sociological failings in America’s treatment of race. She notes the past and present truth of white America’s unequal treatment of its citizens based on race. However, her characterization of America’s discrimination as a caste system and its comparison to India’s and Nazi Germany’s governments is hyperbolic. Nevertheless, it creates a sense of urgency for those who believe in the ideal of human equality. It is difficult, if not impossible, to compare other nation’s inequality with America’s effort and present-day failure to fulfill the ideals of democracy.

The timeliness of Wilkerson’s book seems appropriate in relation to the backward steps being taken by Donald Trump.

Some Americans feel threatened by demographic change that will make white citizens less than 50% of America’s population by 2045. In theory, no one should care if all people are treated equally. What history shows is that the ideals of equality have never been achieved in America or in any other country with a dominant race and/or ethnicity.

Trump’s effort to return America to its past is interpreted by some as a return to industrial production.

America’s return to industrialization is a false flag that will not make America Great. Reindustrialization and keeping America white is a fool’s errand based on demography and the age of technology. Trump’s desire for power, adulation, and loyalty have little to do with prejudice but everything to do with appealing to the worst fears of middle-class America. Trump is willing to use whatever dog whistle is required to satisfy his desire for power and prestige. He understands the fears of the middle class and where American power lays. Power and money are the driving forces of capitalism. Middle class American’s buying power has stagnated or fallen since the 1970s despite the increasing wealth of the top 10% of American citizens. The middle class of America is something Trump appealed to in his re-election for a second term because of their disproportionate loss of income and the rising wealth of America’s business leaders. The irony is that Trump is one of the beneficiaries of that income gap between the very rich and the working-class.

Income disparity trend in the U.S. through 2015.

Wilkerson is right in the sense that America’s real objective should be to ensure equality of all. She is arguing we should have a greater sense of urgency in achieving equality. Equal treatment for all is a formula that can maintain America’s position as an economic, military, and political hegemon. American industrial hegemony is yesterday’s goal. Technological advancement is today’s goal. To achieve today’s goals, equal treatment of all becomes essential in technology because intelligence, innovation, and persistence does not lie in any one race, sex, or creed.

America is class conscious but not in the same way as either India’s or Nazi Germany’s histories.

Wilkerson notes a caste system can be built around ethnicity, religion, language, or gender but race discrimination is what she has personally experienced and underlays much of her comparisons of American history with India and Nazi Germany. Equality of opportunity is key to continued growth of human beings and national economies in the age of technology. In the short term, one may see an autocratic country like China become an economic and military hegemon, but maintenance of that success is dependent on equality of opportunity for all, not just those in power.

One can sympathize with the author’s view of discrimination but her comparison of America to India and Nazi Germany misses too much of what unequal treatment in America is based upon.

EDUCATION’S BOUNTY

Ibram Kendi’s book is about Malcolm X’s transformation from a poorly educated Black youth to man of erudition and importance–a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Malcolm Lives! (The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Listeners)

Author: Ibram X. Kendi

Narrated By: Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi (Author, American professor and historian of race at State University of New York.)

Though Kendi’s book does not have the erudition of Manning Marable’s “Malcolm X”, his book reveals much more about Malcolm Littles’ challenging childhood and his pilgrimage to Pano-Africanism, global human rights, and belief in Sunni Islamism. The Sunni belief in community and the scholarship of study, along with the rough early experience of Malcolm Little’s life, changes him and, to a degree, America’s racist belief in human inequality.

Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, 1925-1965, human rights activist.)

Kendi's book is about Malcolm's transformation from an uneducated Black youth to man of erudition and importance is a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

Kendi explains how Malcolm Little was an uneducated hoodlum when young. Manning Marable shows how insightful and intelligent Malcolm became as a man. A listener/reader of “Malcolm Lives!” gives listener/readers a glimpse of how great they can be if they put their minds and hearts into a life that can make a difference in flawed society. Little becomes self-educated by reading and adopting a belief in something greater than himself.

In some ways, Malcolm is aided by his innate ability to separate the kindness of people he knew from the ignorance of their prejudice.

Interestingly, it is a helpful teacher that changes the direction of Malcolm’s life by encouraging him to be a part of society. On the other hand, this early teacher discourages Malcolm from becoming a Lawyer because he believed the color of Malcolm’s skin would get in his way. Malcolm learned lessons of self-reliance and independence that diminished his regard for the help of a teacher he formally admired. Kendi explains this is just the beginning of Malcolm’s life that evolves from hoodlumism to caring about society that is riven with inequality, but capable of change. Kendi explains how Malcolm’s life exemplifies that capability.

Malcom Little’s life begins in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. This is a time in America when the Ku Klux Klan is at its greatest strength.

Malcolm is in the eighth grade experiencing disillusionment from a teacher he respected. He drops out of school and learns how to live off the land by working minimum wage jobs. The work is at night clubs and pool halls that feed his hunger for excitement while growing angrier and angrier about a world of injustice. He covets a white girlfriend who is seduced by his charm but lets him down when she rats him out for house robberies while she and two girlfriends are parties to the crimes. Little is sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime. The lesson he learns from that experience is that friendliness is no protection from the ignorance of prejudice.

John Elton Bembry (aka Bimbi, an inmate who befriended Malcolm and encouraged him to read and educate himself while serving his sentence.)

The irony of Little’s imprisonment is that the teacher he needed when young came in the guise of a fellow prisoner who is recognized by others as someone who commanded respect because of his book learning, intellect, and eloquence. His name was John Elton Bembry, aka “Bimbi”. Bimbi’s leadership by example and eloquence led Little back to what was seen by his early teacher, the capability of a young man willing to work hard to better himself. Little began re-educating himself by reading books from the prison library. Soon after, one of Little’s brothers introduces him to the Nation of Islam.

Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975, American religious leader and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah)

Kendi reveals the spotty history of the founding of NOI, which ultimately leads to Little’s break with NOI and his adoption of the Sunni faith. Though religion means nothing to some, Little’s adoption of Sunni beliefs and his self-education through reading and travel (when released from prison) changes his life. NOI gave Malcom purpose and discipline while in prison because it reinforced his belief in Black pride and self-reliance. However, the rigidity of its teaching of Black separatism and the personal conduct of its leader, Elijah Muhammad, who fathered children out of wedlock, alienated Little. In 1964, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He found Muslims of all races praying together. The universality of Sunni Islam showed the narrowness of NOI’s view of society.

This is the capture of the NOI follower who is convicted of Malcolm X’s assassination. He is paroled after serving 45 years in a prison cell.

In the last chapters of Kendi’s book there is mention of the establishment of the nation of Israel and the resistance of Palestinian’ Muslim followers to the taking of land for the formation of Israel. The land that became Israel and Gaza were occupied by an early ethnic group known as the Canaanites. Many Palestinians and Israelites descended from the Canaanites. What some may argue is that people of the Jewish faith were first to create a religious force and formal government in the holy lands of Jerusalem. In Malcolm X’s opinion, the rights of the Palestinian people were being violated in the same way as Blacks in America. Whether that is fair judgement remains a question.

Without hegemonic control by the Palestinian leadership of disputed holy lands, no Palestinian State could be created. Today–Jews, Palestinians, and the world are paying a price for that disagreement.

An argument can be made that in ancient times Jews chose to create a form of government in Jerusalem while Palestinians did not. The same is true today. Yassa Arafat and his followers refused an opportunity to create a separate Palestinian State. Arafat would not agree because of conflicts over full sovereignty over holy lands that were disputed by both Jews and Palestinians.

Kendi ends his book with a story about NOI and Malcom X’s assassination. Malcolm had split from NOI and formed his own movement. The fact that members of NOI were involved in the murder of Malcolm X seems damning. However, Kendi’s book is about Malcolm X’s transformation from a poorly educated Black youth to man of erudition and importance–a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

INNOVATION

Steven Johnson notes how innovations and societal change does not come from a singular genius. Innovation and social change come from a confluence of geniuses, managers, and consumers.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

How We Got to Now (Six Innovations That Made the Modern World)

Author: Steven Johnson

Narrated By: George Newbern

Steven Johnson (Author, journalist)

Steven Johnson has written a moderately interesting book about innovation. He writes of six discoveries that came from the experience of everyday life. Glass, temperature, sound, health, time, and light are taken for granted in the 21st century. What Johnson explains is how these six elements were the basis of extraordinary human innovation and change in society.

Barovier Art Deco Murano glass pendant.

Glass has been around for centuries with the earliest found in Ancient Egypt. The heat of desert sands created glass in the form of beads that became jewelry in pre-Christian times. As the world industrialized, glass gathered new uses. Glass became mirrors to reflect human images, lenses for glasses, windows, and structural components of buildings. From the art of 15th-century to Leeuwenhoek’s creation of microscopes to Galileo’s telescopes to strengthening and lightening of high-rise construction materials to invention of fiber-optic cables, glass changed society.

Willis Carrier (1876-1950, designed the first modern air conditioning system in 1902.)

The benefit of cold temperatures helped preserve food and led to wider exploration of the world to avoid the cold. In warmer climates, experience of food preservation and human shelter from heat incentivized society to invent refrigeration for food and air conditioning for buildings. Public health and food safety improved with refrigeration. The cold preserved blood for future medical use and food for later consumption. The value of extreme cold led to cryogenics that aided fertility treatments by freezing sperm, eggs, and embryos for long term biological storage.

Heddy Lamarr (1914-2000, Hollywood star who patented a radio signal device that could change frequencies for secret messages during WWII.)

Johnson explains how sound innovation led to everything from the phonograph to sonar to coded messages during the war years. During WWII, secret communications between military strategists were critical. The often-recalled code breaking story of Alan Turing and the Enigma machine was a breakthrough for Allies to read German secrets. Interestingly, the famous actress, Heddy Lamarr patented a radio signal device for Allied powers’ secret communications.

As cities formed and people congregated in closer proximity, innovations in sanitation, water, and air purification grew to improve public health.

Johnson notes how light innovation grew from candles to light bulbs to lasers that changed the way humans can communicate and live after dark. Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb required the management skill of many to spread light around the world.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

An innovator’s timing makes a difference because the lack of a consumer can delay change like it did with Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace in their 1837 concept of a general-purpose computer.

Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Bryon, becomes the first computer software programmer in history. This was nearly 100 years before computer programing became important.

To improve human productivity, time became important. Precise timekeeping improved productivity, navigation, industrialization, and global coordination.

Johnson notes how innovations and societal change does not come from a singular genius. Innovation and social change come from a confluence of geniuses, managers, and consumers. He suggests Barovier, Leeuwenhoek, Galilei, Tudor, Carrier, and Lamarr were geniuses in their innovative ideas about glass, cold, and sound but it is a confluence of ideas, accidents, collaborations, and market desire that made them successful. The same may be said of Edison with light, Jobs with computers, and Musk with electric vehicles.

INTELLIGENCE

Viskontas believes technology is a boon, not bane, of human intelligence. Information recall is food for brains that advances civilization. She argues information recall, with the use of the internet of things, broadens recall to complement human intelligence and improve creativity.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Brain Myths Exploded (Lessons from Neuroscience)

Lecturer: Indre Viskontas

By: The Great Courses

Indre Viskontas (Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from UCLA, performed at Cafe Royal Opera in San Francisco, studies neural basis of memory and creativity, Lecturer at USF.)

There is a great deal to unpack in Indre Viskontas lectures about the brain and intelligence. This review is an extension of a previous look at her “…Great Courses” lectures on “Brain Myths…”.

Dalton Conley offers a complex explanation of why one child intellectually and financially excels while others are left behind.

Viskontas argues sociability plays an important role in the development of intelligence. As a less social person one wonders what potential may be lost by introversion. Every human being is a mixture of extroversion and introversion. History suggests Benjamin Franklin, Margaret Thatcher, and John F. Kennedy were outgoing extroverts. In contrast, Abrahma Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and Rosa Parks were characterized as less outgoing and more introverted. All were insightful, intelligent leaders that had great impact on the history of the world. Sociability seems of little consequence for one’s intelligence or predictable role in history.

Viskontas explains how important sleep is for mental health.

The effect of sleep deprivation is a form of torture.

During sleep, Viskontas notes the brain is quite active, characterized by different brain wave patterns. Based on periods of sleep, our dreams are like house cleaners clearing the debris accumulated from days past. Some remember their dreams, others do not. That we all dream can be seen with REM, rapid eye movements, that can be seen as eyelid movements when one is sleeping. Viskontas suggests these dreams have hidden meanings that reflect emotions that the brain is actively processing while we sleep. Memories are reconstructed, often distorted, and can cause one to awaken because of their bizarre content. Our brains reconstruct stories in sleep, just as they do when we are awake in that they complete stories of our life whether the facts are true or false. The REM stories are a clearing house for adherent behaviors that may be good or bad.

Viscontas notes low activity in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) causes one to not remember their dreams.

Viskontas explains some do not remember their dreams because of lower activity in a part of the brain that is normally active when dreams are being recalled. She suggests those who wish to remember their dreams can keep a journal of what they do remember when they wake up. This journal can help one understand a little more about why they are dreaming and what their dream may mean by consulting a psychologist or psychiatrist.

A concern that Viskontas raises is that those who do not get enough sleep impair their memory and learning capabilities.

With a lack of sleep the prefrontal cortex functions poorly with poor judgment and impulsive behavior. Further, Viskontas notes the immune system is weakened by not getting enough sleep–with increased risk of anxiety, depression, and mood instability. When deprived of sleep, people become less social and are more driven by emotions than intellect. Viskontas recommends 7-9 hours sleep per night for optimal brain function. A continuous sleep cycle is important for deep sleep and REM that have distinct roles in information processing and a mind’s creativity for healthy living. Though Viskontas does not say anything about napping during the day, some research shows 20-to-30-minute naps can improve memory, alertness, and mood.

Viskontas explains intelligence is not a fixed characteristic but can be shaped by neuroplasticity, environment, genetic inheritance and social interaction.

Humans can rewire their brain through learning and experience. Intelligence rests within every person’s grasp but its improvement is based on genetic inheritance, experience, and effort. Science, with reproducible experiment, has proven intelligence exists throughout the Animal Kingdom.

“Quants” created collateralized mortgages in 2008.

Viskontas believes, on balance, technology is a boon, not bane, of human intelligence.

Information recall is food for brains that advances civilization. She argues information recall, with the use of the internet of things, broadens recall to complement human intelligence and improve creativity. Of course, that food can be poisoned just as the Quants who created collateralized mortgages that nearly collapsed the world economy.

UNITED

Many of Gibbon’s noted reasons for the Roman Empire’s decline are mitigated by the brilliance of the founders of the American Constitution and the “balance of power” principle that created three branches of government. With a balance of power, neither a President, a Congress, or a Court is likely to endorse dictatorship.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volume 1)

Author: Edward Gibbon

Narrated By: Bernard Mayes

Edward Gibbon (Author, 1737-1794, Englishman who received degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.)

Gibbon has an interesting background that seemed suited to admittance to the clergy when he became a symbol of militant agnosticism, even though he was more sophist than militant. This first volume of “The…Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” made him famous.

Volume 1 of Gibbon’s history of the Roman Empire is interesting for its relevance to modern day nation-state leadership.

One is inclined to compare the tumultuous leadership of the Roman Empire to the history of one’s own country. There are parallels between good and bad leaders of the Roman Empire and the potential for collapse of today’s nation-states. Thinking of America, even a non-historian knows of leaders like Washington, Lincoln, and the Roosevelts who are considered by most historians and political scientists as great leaders. They managed American crises and had greater overall impact on America’s future than most other Presidents. Of course, America has also had its duds which can only be considered long after their tenure by historians who mitigate subjectivity.

America’s President Washington might be favorably compared to Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. Both exemplified leadership that could bring together disparate interests with a vision of what their nations could achieve in the world in which they lived. Of course, Augustus ruled for over 40 years while Washington led America for only 8. Augustus established an empire while Washington established a singular nation-state. However, both created a period of peace and stability during their terms of leadership.

Augustus transitioned Rome from a Republic to an Empire while Washington helped establish the U.S. government by presiding over debates on a constitution that defined the presidency and a system of government’ checks and balances.

Augustus stabilized Rome during years of civil war while Washington led the U.S. through the post-Revolutionary War with Great Britain. Both Augustus and Washington commanded militaries that assured peace within their countries. Washington took command of the Continental Army throughout the war with Great Britain. He organized and trained the troops who had little formal military training. He retreated when necessary and took calculated risks while forging foreign alliances to win American independence from the British. Both Augustus and Washington influenced the economics of taxation to support the administration of government. Though their tenures were quite different, each warranted a system for leadership succession.

Like the great achievements of Augustus in forging an empire, many of Washington’s methods for establishing an independent government have been modified by future leaders. American leadership changes every four to eight years. Surprisingly, despite some long reigning emperors of Rome like Augustus, the average reign is only 5 to 7 years. America’s new Presidents, like Rome’s often acted in ways that would not have been acceptable to their predecessors. Gibbon explains how different emperors shaped the Roman empire through inheritance, military coups, and political maneuvering. Some emperors were assassinated within months of their ascension. American Presidents have been assassinated but inheritance of leadership came from elections, not the power of the military or a leader’s wealth.

The power of a Roman emperor could ignore the Roman Senate and its citizens with the military might at their beckon call.

Successive Roman emperors and American presidents changed the way their governments functioned. The power of a Roman emperor could ignore the Roman Senate and its citizens with the power of the military. In contrast an American President’s government policy changes require a level of cooperation from congress, the judiciary, and the will of the people to make fundamental changes in governance. Gibbon’s history shows Roman emperors handled crises with the power of their position but the same may be argued for America if one considers Lincoln’s actions to preserve the Union with a Civil War. Both emperors and presidents used propaganda, public display, and association with religion to preserve their public image and legitimacy.

The Roman Empire and the destruction of Carthage.

Gibbon’s history of the Roman Empire in Volume 1 contrasts the good and bad that occur during the growth and survival of the Empire. There are numerous examples of horrific times for the Empire’s citizens. However, the Roman Empire lasted for 1,500 years despite what he called the loss of civic virtue, the rise of religion, military decay, economic strain, and barbarian invasion. Many of Gibbon’s noted reasons for the Roman Empire’s decline are mitigated by the brilliance of the founders of the American Constitution and the “balance of power” principle that created three branches of government. With a balance of power, neither a President, a Congress, or a Court is likely to endorse dictatorship.

A part of Gibbon’s first volume addresses the conflict between the Roman legions and what are loosely described as the barbarians. Barbarians were the non-Romans of that time.

They were the Germanic tribes of Goths, Vandals, Franks, and Alemanni. There were the Celts of Gaul and Britain, the Huns of Central Asia, the Parthians and Sassanids of the Persian empires, and the Slaves and Bulgars that arrived at the end of the Roman Empire. The distinction between a Roman soldier and a Barbarian is somewhat obscure. Though the Romans were more highly trained and operated within a structured military hierarchy, they exhibited some of the unruliness of the Barbarians who fought in loose tribal warbands. Roman’ equipment and armor were more standardized than the weapons of the Barbarians. Though some might argue the Romans had citizenship and status, they succumbed to mercenary actions just as the Barbarians often did in their tribal communities. A significant difference between the Roman soldier and Barbarians was discipline in battle. Roman soldiers fought in tight formations while the Barbarians fought with hit-and-run tactics. The interesting thought one has about that difference is the mistakes of America in Vietnam and what many consider a defeat by Ho Chi Minh’s hit-and-run tactics.

Map of the United States of America with state names.

America declared independence in 1776 which means it has lasted for 249 years. There seems little reason to believe America cannot survive more years, i.e. presuming global warming, nuclear war, virus creation, or some other unimagined catastrophic event destroys human life.

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