June 13, 2020
How to Live Better covid-19: day 92 | US: GA | info | act
I like these guidelines. They couple easily be a twenty-first-century replacement for that outdated other list of ten. They call this list “How to Work Better,” but I renamed it above.
- Do one thing at a time
- Know the problem
- Learn to listen
- Learn to ask questions
- Distinguish sense from nonsense
- Accept change as inevitable
- Admit mistakes
- Say it simple
- Be calm
- Smile
I have no wish to appropriate these from Black Lives Matter, and they should clearly be read in that vein first. Yet, as an educator, I think these should be the goals of higher education, especially number five. I think that education involves making us more engaged and compassionate and informed citizens—this is crucial for the survival of democracy. If Norman Mailer is correct and that
| “ | Democracy is a state of grace attained only by those countries that have a host of individuals not only ready to enjoy freedom but to undergo the heavy labor of maintaining it.[1] | ” |
We all have the responsibly to educate ourselves to be better humans, especially those of us who are melanin-challenged.
Note
- ↑ Mailer, Norman (2003). Why Are We at War?. New York: Random House. p. 71.
