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Dec. 5th, 2014 11:58 pmI'm ensconced at Lisa's place in Chicago. We had a nice Polish dinner at Smak-Tak. We've had good conversation, but not exactly uplifting. We've both been pretty stressed lately, and then there's all the horrific events in the news.
I was going to sit back and relax with some more of the collection of literature that Danae lent to me, but I don't think I can right now. I'm reading a quantitative analysis of the relationship between civic culture and failure of public services and it just keeps reminding me of the news stories about people killed by police. I think of these very present and visceral reality of these events, and this academic discussion seems so distant and powerless.
I'm thinking again of something I read by Don Mitchell at Syracuse; that theory is just as important as practice. That theory informs practice, and keeps us ready. I believe that's true. Right now though, emotionally, reading theory doesn't do much to remove images of a twelve-year-old with a gunshot wound or a man being choked to death with impunity.
I'm going to get to bed for now. But we can make this world better. I believe that, too. We can be part of the solution. Don't give up. Don't check out. Be part of the change you want to see.
I was going to sit back and relax with some more of the collection of literature that Danae lent to me, but I don't think I can right now. I'm reading a quantitative analysis of the relationship between civic culture and failure of public services and it just keeps reminding me of the news stories about people killed by police. I think of these very present and visceral reality of these events, and this academic discussion seems so distant and powerless.
I'm thinking again of something I read by Don Mitchell at Syracuse; that theory is just as important as practice. That theory informs practice, and keeps us ready. I believe that's true. Right now though, emotionally, reading theory doesn't do much to remove images of a twelve-year-old with a gunshot wound or a man being choked to death with impunity.
I'm going to get to bed for now. But we can make this world better. I believe that, too. We can be part of the solution. Don't give up. Don't check out. Be part of the change you want to see.
