Jim Morris's Thought of the Week (or month, or year, ...)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Second Generation Diasporans
I recently returned from a trip to Korea and was struck again by my exemption from Asian social discipline. It's nice that they don't mind our ignorance of their language and social customs. I almost think I could behave boorishly by American standards and get away with it.
I also realized how hard it must be for American children of Asians to visit these countries. They look like natives so are expected to speak and act like them. If their parents haven't made extraordinary efforts to acculturate them in the home country's ways, they are likely to encounter real difficulties when they visit.
posted by Jim Morris @ 1:41 PM
Sunday, October 14, 2007
It doesn't matter if climate change is our fault.
There are many issues about climate change, but arguing about whether we caused it or not is not worth our attention. The important questions are about what to do about it going forward.
"Breakthrough", a new book by Nordhaus and Schellenberger is a bracing lecture about getting beyond guilt.
A good test of one's feelings about this is how your react to putting a mirror between the Earth and Sun to reduce global warming. If you reject it out of hand in favor of driving a Prius, you one one who regards conservation as "civic virtue", as Dick Cheney calls it.
posted by Jim Morris @ 6:53 PM
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