NPR's All Things Considered has started a five-part series on the language of the "war on terror," with this piece on jihad, "The War on the Word 'Jihad'" (10/31/2006 - 7:31). Future episodes will be devoted to "Islamofascists," "imperialism." "democracy," and "war on terrorism." As NPR states, this is such an important series since all these terms have a practical effect on our foreign policy and how we interact with with the Muslim world.

Musings

• Like many terms, "Jihad" has multiple meanings; perhaps even more important is the connotation the term has--whether "jihad" is inherently or primarily a negative term in the Muslim world. Check the entry at Wikipedia.
  
  
• One suggestion is the use of hirabis (originally meaning "brigands") as a more pejorative terms for jihadists. What are some English synonyms for "jihadists"? Are all the English terms equally negative?

Limiting Free Speech

"Freedom of expression must include the right to offend." This is the proposition that formed the basis for a debate among six speakers (journalists, professors and activists) who came together in New York City on October 18, and which is available here (10/26/06 - 53:00). The debate was part of the series Intelligence Squared, which is produced by WNYC and is based on a similar series that began in London in 2002. One can get a gist of the debate by reading the commentary and listening to the six excerpts.

Musings

• Early on we learn that the audience was polled about their opinion before the debate. Why is it not a surprise to learn that they were overwhelmingly in support of the proposition?
  
  
• Maybe the proposition was poorly worded since Americans people are going to support strict limits on free speech. perhaps a better proposition would deal with the question of their ever being a need for any limitations on free speech, any need ever to curb what people can say, or when or where they say it.

Jonestown

At the end of this Day to Day piece, Jonestown: Portrait of a Disturbed Cult Leader 10/20/2006 - (6:10) by Karen Grigsby Bates, the director of a new documentary on the tragedy remarks how so many young people today know nothing about Jonestown, other than the phrase, "Drink the Koolaid." Indeed, the events that happened to some 900 Americans in the small South American country of Guyana are difficult to fathom, maybe eveen impossible to accept without the incredible photographic evidence of the horrific events. This NPR piece was done in conjunction with the release of the documentary, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. You can read a detailed account of the tragedy at Wikipedia.

Musings

• It seems to be part of our nature to want to draw lessons from such an event, perhaps as a means of re-assuring ourselves about our safety and sanity. What, then, is the lesson of Jonestown?
  
  
• Certain sects or splinter groups often feel the need to arm themselves; in Iraq and Lebanon today we hear constant talk of militias. Take a look at this article on militias.

Now publishing 3 new topics a week--
Monday, Tuesday, and (this week ony) Thursday.

YouTube

YouTube is one of the phenomenons of our age--a sign that DotCom boom may not be entirely over. The site was launched in August 2005 and was recently purchased by Google (another DotCom phenom) for $1.65 billion (with a 'b'). Paul Boutin's report Videos That Put YouTube.com on the Map (10/19/2006 - 5:09) reviews some of the most popular postings on YouTube in the last year--and, since this is a radio report, there are links to the actual YouTube videos.

Musings

• How would you explain the popularity of YouTube? What advantages, if any, does an audio report like Boutin's have over a video clip?
  
  
• The Wikipedia article on YouTube discusses the key role of copyright in its success--the ability to reproduce someone else's intellectual property.
  

Now publishing 3 new topics a week--
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

U.S. Census

Last week the U.S. census had an odometer moment--when all the 9s turn to 0's, in this case to 300,000,000, the estimate last Tuesday of the current U.S. population. This piece by Robert Smith (10/16/2006 - 5:05) plays up some of the key forces affecting changes in not just the number of Americans but, more importantly, the make-up of that number.

Musings

• One great demographic trend continue to be movement away from the dominance of the white, two-parent, two-child household. How does your own experience accord with t his change?
  
• Some of the tensions in the American political landscape seem to be the result of this demographic shift as well, even though politicians, especially nationally, still seem to cling to the older pattern.
  

Now publishing 3 new topics a week--
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

The Haditha Killings

This piece, Haditha and the Nature of War, from Talk of the Nation (10/5/2006 - 30:12) features an interview with journalist William Langewiesche in which he discusses his in-depth article, "The Rules of Engagement," on what happened in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005, when insurgents blew up a Marine Humvee, killing a popular 20-year old Marine, and the bloody, much-disputed aftermath in which 24 Iraqi men, women, and children were killed. (Report at Wikipedia)

Musings

• If you read Langewiesche's piece, you will get a sense of the grim, horror of the American presence in the middle of an insurgency, especially the muddled question of who are the "good guys" and "bad guys"?
  
  
• In the NPR interview, Langewiesche uses the metaphor of an iron wedge going through water to describe the impact of U.S. military patrols in Iraqi villages--that is, a tool that creates a big but only momentary effect on the immediate environment. After the patrol-wedge leaves, everything fairly quickly returns tot he status quo.
  
  
• Langewiesche's piece is entitled "Rules of Engagement," undoubtedly a tricky term--here's a brief article at Wikipedia.

Now publishing 3 new topics a week--
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Dizzy on Tour

Today the United States is in a battle to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim global community--a battle that few think is going as well as it should, and many think has been a near-disaster. In the mid-1950's, the United States was in a similar battle (the Cold War) in many of the same places, combating the appeal of Communism. One thing that we did then was to send leading jazz artists of the time such as Louis Armstrong and, in this case, James Birks Gillespie, already known to the world as "Dizzy."

This piece from Day to Day (10/16/2006 - 5:11) describes Dizzy's tour and its role as cultural diplomacy. The person behind the tour was a New York Congressman from Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. His son Adam Clayton Powell, III, helped organize a concert celebrating Dizzy's tour. "Really interesting music attracts people, and then they hang around for a discussion of the politics," Powell, III says. "They may hate our policies, but they love our music."

Musings

• Here's an obvious jumping off point: Just which musicians or others would make a good cultural ambassador for the U.S. today in the Muslim world?
  
• There is some cultural diplomacy going on today, although usually not government sponsored--in sports.

Now publishing 3 new topics a week--
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Andrew Sullivan

From All Things Considered comes this interview with iconoclastic social critic and blogger Andrew Sullivan (10/12/2006 - 8:49). Sullivan is perhaps best known as an openly gay, Catholic, conservative--a position that has him defending himself often in the media. In his new book, The Conservative Soul, Sullivan calls into question the "conservatism" of the current Republican Party, arguing that many of the party's current positions are not necessarily "conservative."

What Sullivan wants is to get back to the "conservative" principles of limited government, balanced budgets, individual liberty, and the rule of law.

"I am asking for a conservatism … that gets back to understanding that we have to restrain government, not empower it, and that faith and politics need to be kept apart for the sake not only of politics, but also of religion, which is being poisoned by partisan politics," he says.

Musings

• One question that Robert Siegel's interview with Sullivan raises is just what it means to be a conservative. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article on the term.
  
• Blogs are becoming a big part of American political culture. Take a look at Sullivan's, The Daily Dish, now published in partnership with CNN.

Once again we will be publishing 3 new topics this week:
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday--
and, as always, your feedback is welcomed!

Philly's Microsoft High

The accompanying picture shows two freshmen at Philadelphia's new Microsoft High, officially known as theSchool of the Future--a $61.4 million joint venture between the Philadelphia public schools and the Microsoft Corporation. The school serves the West Philadelphia neighborhood, an area where 85% of the residents live below the federal poverty level. This Morning Edition piece (10/11/2006) highlights this "what if?" bold experiment in improving education through technology.

Musings

• "No pencils, no papers, no books. None." This is how a student describes the school, with technology, especially laptop computers, replacing traditional school materials. While this may sound cool, there are any number of possible concerns with such reliance on technology.
  
• Educational technology, as a key to our future or greatly oversold, is a topic which students themselves have a high level of expertise: for better or worse, all students have had a host of experiences (good or bad) with educational technology.
  

Huey Long

The recent remake of the Robert Penn Warren's classic American novel, All the King's Men, as a film starring Sean Penn has not been a commercial or critical success, so it is unclear just how much new interest it has awakened in the Louisiana populist politician Huey Long. One of the strange aspects of Long's career is that he comes out of the tradition of American populism, which basically represents the concerns of the "little man." While much populist sentiments today are directed at intellectuals, liberals, Hollywood, elites, and the mainstream media, Long directed his brickbats at those who controlled American wealth. (Read more about Long at Wikipedia.) Here in this Morning Edition piece (12/23/1997 - 3:19), we can hear Long in a broadcast from December 1934, attack J. D. Rockefeller, among others.

Musings

• Imagine Long's speech in 2006. What politician today would make such a speech? Would that person be a conservative or liberal? Was Long a liberal or a conservative?
  
  
• Populism is a little understood but nonetheless still powerful force in American life. Read more about populism here.

We will be publishing 3 new topics this week:
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Amish Teens

The horrific shootings in the Amish school last week once again have brought the pious, deeply private Anabaptist community into the national spotlight. One little known aspect of Amish life is the unusual way they handle the troublesome teenage years. This Morning Edition piece (5/30/2002 - 8:42) discusses Rumspringa, the unusual Amish practice of of encouraging their teenagers to experiences the ways of the world, to sow their wild oats, so to speak. The report coincided with the release of a documentary entitled, The Devil's Playground. This past June, Tom Shachtman published a book on the topic, Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish (Talk of the Nation).

Musings

• What are you thoughts on rumspringa? How does it compare to your sense of the "normal" way we deal with teens, how you were dealt with when you were sixteen?
  
• There seems to be some parallels between rumspringa and the New Testament Parable of the Prodigal Son.

We will be publishing 3 new topics this week:
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Gay Republicans

In the midst of the uproar over the scandal surrounding Republican Congressman Mark Foley, here is a report on the small movement of gays within the Republican Party, known as the Log Cabin Republicans (3/17/2004 - 4:16). The name harkens back to Abraham Lincoln and the origins of the Republican Party--learn more at Wikipedia.

Musings

• Why is it surprising to learn that there gay Republicans, or, more to the point, an organized group of gay Republicans? Why is it not surprising that there should be a sizeable number of gay Republicans?
  
  
• There are 535 members of the U.S. Congress, some 85% men, and with very, very few gays living out of the closet, of which Democratic Rep. Barney Frank is by far the best well known. How do you feel about Congressmen and women who are living in the closet? How do you think they will be affected by the current Foley scandal, especially in light of the fact that their sexual orientation is often known by the political leadership?
  

A Jewish Soldier Witnesses Nuremberg

The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was established by the United States and the other allies after World War II as the cornerstone of a new international law that recognized "crimes against humanity." The evidence presented there represented the first account of the Nazis' atrocities and mass murders of the concentration camps. Commentator Clancy Sigal was a sergeant in the American army of occupation in Germany and gives this account (10/2/2006 -3:25) of what he saw.

Here you can hear legendary reporter Walter Cronkite's account (2/20/2006-12:55) of the trials.

Musings

• Sigal makes a direct comparison between the Nuremberg trials and the current controversy over how to prosecute detainees. Sigal seems to think that the similarities are more compelling than the differences. Do you agree? Just what are these similarities and differences?
  
• Why does Sigal focus on Herman Goering?

Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965) is a documentary series about the American Civil Rights Movement that originally aired on PBS in 1987. Then, three years later, eight segments dealing with the years between 1965-1985 were added to the original six. The documentary is noted for its sweeping use of rare archival footage.

After years of legal wrangling over copyrights on some of this archival footage, the original six-part series is being re-aired on public television this week--the first time it has been available in thirteen years.

This NPR broadcast (10/2/2006 - 11:48) the efforts that went into bring this classic documentary back to television.

Musings

• There is a saying to the effect that "History is written by the winners"; today it may be hard to realize just how broad, determined, and generally well connected were the opponents of the Civil Rights Movement.
  
• How can you explain the success of the Civil Rights Movement--the part played by activists, by ordinary people, and finally by the federal government? Indeed, one way of looking at the movement as a whole was as an attempt to force the federal government to act, after decades of largely ignoring the plight of African-Americans in the South.

We will try a slightly new format this week, by focusing on this one topic. The daily postings will be in the form of comments that add links and new perspectives to the week's topic, as a means of encouraging greater feedback and depth of study.