A summary of the August posts from the MORE TO COME newsletter.
August vacations are a tradition in Washington. However, an August political convention—which comes every four years—disrupts the normal rhythms of a Washington summer.
At the beginning of the month I was wrapping up a two-week international trip and returning home to a dramatically changed election dynamic just before the Democratic National Convention. Those two events were clearly on my mind, showing up multiple times in MORE TO COME newsletter posts.
Let’s jump in and see how travel and politics surfaced in the August offerings.
TOP READER FAVORITES
In late July and early August I served as a Study Leader on a National Trust Tours trip to Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. The three posts about that trip were far-and-away the top reader favorites this month.
- We visited eight harbor cities in seven countries on our trip. Rapid expansion, fluidity, and change are typical of ports, creating challenges for traditional approaches to preservation. In A tale of two harbor cities, I looked at two distinct yet lively attitudes toward the marriage of past and present in cities at opposite geographic and cultural ends of the tour: Copenhagen and Tallinn.
- A day of exploration filled with wonder, new perspectives, and joy seemed only appropriate in a country that for the tenth year in a row took top honors as the world’s happiest. Finlandia! is my post about taking in the wonders of Helsinki.
- As is my custom on these trips, I pull together a range of photos and impressions for a wrap-up post. Enjoy the Scandinavia and Baltic Sea version in Observations from . . . cooler climes.
JOY IS, IN FACT, A POLITICAL STRATEGY
The New York Times had to prove its cluelessness once again by posting a recent column headlined Joy is Not a Strategy. My immediate response was to think, “Gee, I guess FDR—who was elected President FOUR times beginning with the theme ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’—never got that memo!” A better rebuttal in the FrameLab newsletter entitled Kamala Harris and the strategy of joy shoots down that nonsense.
The joy that comes from seeing the creation of a new, national program for democracy came through in three posts this month.
- While we’ve all been feeling discouraged by our political discourse, author/activist Valarie Kaur reminds us darkness can also be part of a new beginning. In The darkness of a womb, I consider how out of travail something new can be born.
- Rabbi Sharon Brous called on us, as we craft a redemption story for America, to “be guided by hope, joy, and a fierce moral imagination.” I am amazed at how many people tuned in to the DNC, where each individual found different speakers and events to spark their fierce moral imagination. In Recovering the roots of American democracy, I provide a few personal highlights that sparked mine.
- Joy is a strategy, but the major theme of the campaign is freedom. This moral value is certainly a time-tested political strategy. I explore this theme and have a little fun in the process in Freedom.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Here’s the rest of what caught my eye on MORE TO COME in August.
- A new exhibition on Mary Cassatt invites conversations about gender, work, and artistic agency. Offering small and large epiphanies looks at that exhibit and the Daniel Weiss book Why The Museum Matters.
- Sometimes we need a few simple words to awaken our spirits to all that surrounds us; to stop over thinking and tend to the ordinary and mundane. The mysteries of our daily experience is a review of Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings, a slim book of poetry that serves as a pathway of invitation for the reader.
- Fighting a culture of corruption and impunity reviews Red Notice by Bill Browder, an important reminder of the brutal realities of the Putin regime.
- Myth and history are both important in understanding our past actions and present choices as a nation. The crescendo moment in American history considers both in a review of Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis.
- Roots music from Charm City explores the offerings of a Baltimore-based acoustic roots quartet steeped in traditional music yet not afraid to try new sounds.
- And the always popular From the bookshelf: July 2024.
FEATURED COMMENTS
Several readers wrote online comments and emails in response to my concerns about our political media as expressed in The darkness of a womb.
As a sample, brilliant reader Carol wrote, “Bravo, David. Hope your wise words will be widely read. So much of the recent reportage by even (previously) respected media raises the threat of democracy as dying not so much ‘in darkness’ as in drivel and distortion.”
CONCLUSION
Thanks, as always, for reading. Your support and feedback mean more than I can ever express.
As you travel life’s highways be open to love; thirst for wonder; undertake some mindful, transformative walking every day. Recognize the incredible privilege that most of us have and think about how to put that privilege to use for good. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and others can feel especially vulnerable . . . because they are. Work hard for justice and democracy as the fight never ends.
When times get rough, let your memories wander back to some wonderful place with remembrances of family and friends. But don’t be too hard on yourself if a few of the facts slip. Just get the poetry right.
Remember that “we are here to keep watch, not to keep.” Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. And bash into some joy along the way.
Finally, try to be nice. Always be kind.
More to come . . .
DJB
For the July 2024 summary, click here.
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