csmonitor--2020-12-23--The uncompromising life and legacy of activist Sylvia Pankhurst

The British population numbered more than 40 million people in 1900 , but only about 6 million of those were allowed to vote .
There were age and property restrictions , but the biggest excluding factor was that no woman was permitted to cast a ballot .
Many women , and some men , devoted themselves tirelessly to the protracted struggle for women ’ s suffrage .
But it was not until 1928 that all women over the age of 21 were enfranchised .
Arguably , few suffered as much to achieve that victory than Sylvia Pankhurst .
Cultural historian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activism – which resulted in multiple imprisonments , during which she endured brutal forced feedings – in her excellent and admiring new biography , “ Sylvia Pankhurst : Natural Born Rebel.
” But while the activist is best remembered for her work in the fight for suffrage , that was only one act of her long , extraordinary life .
She was a talented painter and prolific writer .
In addition , she threw herself into revolutionary politics , becoming a passionate anti-fascist , anti-racist , and anti-colonialist .
It ’ s unsurprising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ associated with the suffrage fight .
She demonstrated astonishing courage in protesting for the vote .
She ’ d been raised to do so , after all .
Pankhurst was born in 1882 to a storied activist family whose home bustled with visits from assorted radicals , socialists , and anarchists .
Her father Richard , a lawyer who was both a socialist and a feminist , used to tell his children , “ If you do not grow up to help other people you will not have been worth the upbringing !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ described by Holmes as `` England ’ s most famous suffragette , ” founded the militant Women ’ s Social and Political Union in 1903 – an event that would direct the course of her daughter ’ s life .
At the time , Pankhurst had been pursuing a career in art ; she felt torn between her desire to make a living as a painter and her obligations to the suffrage campaign .
Her imperious mother clarified her priorities .
In Holmes ’ words , Pankhurst “ expected to do her duty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or not she could eat or pay her rent.
” In the end , Pankhurst largely set her art aside to fight for the vote in the decade leading up to World War I .
It was a period characterized by mass protest in England ; most demonstrations were met with an oppressive police response .
She was imprisoned in London 13 times in 1913 and 1914 , harrowing experiences that made her “ as committed to prison reform as she was to the women ’ s vote , ” Holmes writes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with many fellow detainees , to engage in hunger strikes .
The government responded by force-feeding the strikers , and Pankhurst , who , Holmes writes , evinced a “ terrifying capacity for martyrdom , ” eventually received more feedings than any other prisoner , resulting in adverse health effects throughout her life .
Holmes ’ s detailed descriptions of the violent procedure , widely considered to be torture , make for difficult reading .
Pankhurst was aware of this as well : She wrote powerful accounts of her experiences that helped sway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
During this time Pankhurst broke with her mother and her sister Christabel , who together ran the WSPU .
The rift was ideological , as Pankhurst alone of the three wanted to link the struggles of women to the struggles of the working class .
They also disagreed on tactics : Pankhurst accepted public acts of militancy like communal window-smashing but opposed covert acts of arson and property destruction that her mother and sister embraced .
They never reconciled .
Pankhurst , who , in the author ’ s words , often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose lives were constrained by marriage , maternity , and convention , ” never married .
She had a 10-year affair with British Labour Party leader Keir Hardie , the country ’ s first socialist member of parliament and a family friend she ’ d known since childhood .
She later had a decades-long relationship with exiled Italian anarchist Silvio Corio , with whom she had a son , Richard , her only child , when she was 45 .
The out-of-wedlock pregnancy finalized the painful break with Emmeline , who refused to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grandson was born .
To capture Pankhurst ’ s life , Holmes plumbs her subject ’ s published writings and private correspondence , while also benefiting from the work of other historians and access to newly available archival material .
The book is long – nearly 1,000 pages – and Holmes can ’ t resist devoting extended passages to various interesting agitators who come in and out of Pankhurst ’ s life .
But her command of the material , which covers not only suffrage but Pankhurst ’ s involvement in everything from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , India , and Ethiopia ( Pankhurst led international protests when fascist Italy invaded the African kingdom ) , is impressive .
The author vividly portrays both the sweep of events and her subject ’ s inner conflicts .
Indeed , Holmes excels in showing how Pankhurst 's mental turmoil both shaped and drove her , leading to a remarkably forward-thinking understanding of the connections between gender , class , and race .
Pankhurst spent the last four years of her life in Ethiopia , at the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her death in 1960 , she received an elaborate state funeral there .
She once said she hoped to be remembered “ as a citizen of the world , ” and being one , Holmes observes , “ required the constant taking of sides.
” Pankhurst took sides until the very end .

The British population numbered more than 40 million people in 1900, but only about 6 million of those were allowed to vote. There were age and property restrictions, but the biggest excluding factor was that no woman was permitted to cast a ballot. Many women, and some men, devoted themselves tirelessly to the protracted struggle for women’s suffrage. But it was not until 1928 that all women over the age of 21 were enfranchised. Arguably, few suffered as much to achieve that victory than Sylvia Pankhurst.
Cultural historian Rachel Holmes describes Pankhurst’s all-consuming activism – which resulted in multiple imprisonments, during which she endured brutal forced feedings – in her excellent and admiring new biography, “Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel.” But while the activist is best remembered for her work in the fight for suffrage, that was only one act of her long, extraordinary life. She was a talented painter and prolific writer. In addition, she threw herself into revolutionary politics, becoming a passionate anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-colonialist.
It’s unsurprising, though, that Pankhurst is most associated with the suffrage fight. She demonstrated astonishing courage in protesting for the vote. She’d been raised to do so, after all. Pankhurst was born in 1882 to a storied activist family whose home bustled with visits from assorted radicals, socialists, and anarchists. Her father Richard, a lawyer who was both a socialist and a feminist, used to tell his children, “If you do not grow up to help other people you will not have been worth the upbringing!”
Pankhurst’s mother Emmeline, described by Holmes as "England’s most famous suffragette,” founded the militant Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903 – an event that would direct the course of her daughter’s life. At the time, Pankhurst had been pursuing a career in art; she felt torn between her desire to make a living as a painter and her obligations to the suffrage campaign. Her imperious mother clarified her priorities. In Holmes’ words, Pankhurst “expected to do her duty to the movement, regardless of whether or not she could eat or pay her rent.”
In the end, Pankhurst largely set her art aside to fight for the vote in the decade leading up to World War I. It was a period characterized by mass protest in England; most demonstrations were met with an oppressive police response. She was imprisoned in London 13 times in 1913 and 1914, harrowing experiences that made her “as committed to prison reform as she was to the women’s vote,” Holmes writes.
The prison conditions led her, along with many fellow detainees, to engage in hunger strikes. The government responded by force-feeding the strikers, and Pankhurst, who, Holmes writes, evinced a “terrifying capacity for martyrdom,” eventually received more feedings than any other prisoner, resulting in adverse health effects throughout her life. Holmes’s detailed descriptions of the violent procedure, widely considered to be torture, make for difficult reading. Pankhurst was aware of this as well: She wrote powerful accounts of her experiences that helped sway public opinion in favor of the prisoners.
During this time Pankhurst broke with her mother and her sister Christabel, who together ran the WSPU. The rift was ideological, as Pankhurst alone of the three wanted to link the struggles of women to the struggles of the working class. They also disagreed on tactics: Pankhurst accepted public acts of militancy like communal window-smashing but opposed covert acts of arson and property destruction that her mother and sister embraced.
They never reconciled. Pankhurst, who, in the author’s words, often lamented the wasted potential of women “whose lives were constrained by marriage, maternity, and convention,” never married. She had a 10-year affair with British Labour Party leader Keir Hardie, the country’s first socialist member of parliament and a family friend she’d known since childhood. She later had a decades-long relationship with exiled Italian anarchist Silvio Corio, with whom she had a son, Richard, her only child, when she was 45. The out-of-wedlock pregnancy finalized the painful break with Emmeline, who refused to see Sylvia and died months after her grandson was born.
To capture Pankhurst’s life, Holmes plumbs her subject’s published writings and private correspondence, while also benefiting from the work of other historians and access to newly available archival material. The book is long – nearly 1,000 pages – and Holmes can’t resist devoting extended passages to various interesting agitators who come in and out of Pankhurst’s life. But her command of the material, which covers not only suffrage but Pankhurst’s involvement in everything from anti-war protest to political turmoil in Russia, India, and Ethiopia (Pankhurst led international protests when fascist Italy invaded the African kingdom), is impressive. The author vividly portrays both the sweep of events and her subject’s inner conflicts. Indeed, Holmes excels in showing how Pankhurst's mental turmoil both shaped and drove her, leading to a remarkably forward-thinking understanding of the connections between gender, class, and race.
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Pankhurst spent the last four years of her life in Ethiopia, at the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie, who had become a friend. Upon her death in 1960, she received an elaborate state funeral there.
She once said she hoped to be remembered “as a citizen of the world,” and being one, Holmes observes, “required the constant taking of sides.” Pankhurst took sides until the very end.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--‘The Last Assassin’ breathes life into the events of Julius Caesar’s death

So persuasive , so memorable , is the artistry of William Shakespeare that devotees of his plays who are only casual skimmers of history might be surprised to remember that it wasn ’ t just Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius who assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 B.C .
Despite the fact that they ’ re the only two being forever gnawed in the jaws of Dante ’ s Satan at the heart of the Inferno , it was actually a small crowd of senators who drove the knives in .
And their goals were so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they feared was making himself a tyrant and then explain themselves to their colleagues and countrymen – that they laid themselves open to a danger that more cynical men would have anticipated : retribution .
Caesar ’ s grandnephew and heir , Octavian , was away at his studies in the Western Balkans when word of the assassination reached him , and he wasted no time returning to Rome and fighting for Caesar ’ s mantle of power .
Octavian had an empire to win and control .
Still , he found time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the odd outermost points of that pursuit form the basis of “ The Last Assassin : The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar ” by former Times Literary Supplement editor Peter Stothard .
Stothard makes a seemingly odd but ultimately wise organizational choice : He centers the bulk of his book on an assassin whose name will be unfamiliar to pretty much everybody except his fellow historians : Cassius Parmensis , an amateur philosopher and poet .
In Stothard ’ s dramatic reconstruction of the key event , Parmensis scarcely knows what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the rush to complete the deed , dozens of men were stabbing at the tyrant and sometimes hitting each other .
“ Somewhere else in the press of men , ” Stothard writes , “ as conspirators pierced the flesh of Caesar and each other , was Cassius Parmensis.
” He was a distant acquaintance of the poet Horace .
But unlike Horace , who ’ d fought on the losing side for Brutus and Cassius but quickly put up his sword and shield , Parmensis chose to remain at war .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enemies , fighting at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C .
Eventually , after Octavian swept aside all opposition , Parmensis settled down in Athens , the “ cultural beacon of the world , ” where he wrote plays and poems for over a decade while Octavian consolidated power in Rome .
Octavian became consul at the age of 19 , and his colleague in office , Quintus Pedius , put his name on the Lex Pedia , which ended any amnesty and declared every one of Julius Caesar ’ s assassins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wider Roman world was required to discover and arrest those listed to face the new justice , ” Stothard writes .
“ With the speed of bad news every assassin learnt he was a hunted man.
” Stothard uses Parmensis as a very human focal point for the broader story of the seismic changes that gripped the Roman world , and this approach works surprisingly well .
Through Parmensis , we see the larger tale unfold : Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon and marching his troops on Rome , power realigning itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battles fought by key players like Brutus and Cassius and Mark Antony and Octavian .
Centering so much of the story on Parmensis allows Stothard to craft a more miniature drama that ’ s at times intensely emotional – almost novelistic .
He ’ s helped considerably in this by the fact that his primary source is Velleius Paterculus , a flamboyant historian not above telling tall tales if they made good reading .
“ He had a rhetorical style in which he too much pleaded to be believed , ” Stothard writes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Parmensis , where “ Some changed their stories ; some had their stories changed .
Imagination became memory.
” The assassin settled down in Athens and hoped that the past would leave him alone .
As Stothard puts it , “ He had reasons to fear but no reason to be uncomfortable.
” Thanks to Stothard ’ s narrative skill , readers get a visceral sense of the jittery , clammy life Parmensis must have led in Athens , one ear cocked to every rumor from Rome , constantly suspicious of every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone for 13 years , but he ’ d been a military commander as well as an assassin , and Octavian was nothing if not thorough .
Eventually , a man named Quintus Attius Varus found Parmensis at his villa , killed him , and , anecdotally , brought one of Parmensis ' tragedies – along with his head – back to Octavian .
“ The Last Assassin ” brings to vivid life the whole extended drama of the death of Julius Caesar and the rise of the young man who would become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remarkable reframing of that familiar old story .

So persuasive, so memorable, is the artistry of William Shakespeare that devotees of his plays who are only casual skimmers of history might be surprised to remember that it wasn’t just Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius who assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. Despite the fact that they’re the only two being forever gnawed in the jaws of Dante’s Satan at the heart of the Inferno, it was actually a small crowd of senators who drove the knives in.
And their goals were so passionately focused – kill this one man they feared was making himself a tyrant and then explain themselves to their colleagues and countrymen – that they laid themselves open to a danger that more cynical men would have anticipated: retribution. Caesar’s grandnephew and heir, Octavian, was away at his studies in the Western Balkans when word of the assassination reached him, and he wasted no time returning to Rome and fighting for Caesar’s mantle of power.
Octavian had an empire to win and control. Still, he found time to hunt down the assassins, and the odd outermost points of that pursuit form the basis of “The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar” by former Times Literary Supplement editor Peter Stothard.
Stothard makes a seemingly odd but ultimately wise organizational choice: He centers the bulk of his book on an assassin whose name will be unfamiliar to pretty much everybody except his fellow historians: Cassius Parmensis, an amateur philosopher and poet. In Stothard’s dramatic reconstruction of the key event, Parmensis scarcely knows what role he played in the assassination; in the rush to complete the deed, dozens of men were stabbing at the tyrant and sometimes hitting each other. “Somewhere else in the press of men,” Stothard writes, “as conspirators pierced the flesh of Caesar and each other, was Cassius Parmensis.”
He was a distant acquaintance of the poet Horace. But unlike Horace, who’d fought on the losing side for Brutus and Cassius but quickly put up his sword and shield, Parmensis chose to remain at war. He allied himself with Octavian’s enemies, fighting at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Eventually, after Octavian swept aside all opposition, Parmensis settled down in Athens, the “cultural beacon of the world,” where he wrote plays and poems for over a decade while Octavian consolidated power in Rome.
Octavian became consul at the age of 19, and his colleague in office, Quintus Pedius, put his name on the Lex Pedia, which ended any amnesty and declared every one of Julius Caesar’s assassins an outlaw. “Every magistrate of the wider Roman world was required to discover and arrest those listed to face the new justice,” Stothard writes. “With the speed of bad news every assassin learnt he was a hunted man.”
Stothard uses Parmensis as a very human focal point for the broader story of the seismic changes that gripped the Roman world, and this approach works surprisingly well. Through Parmensis, we see the larger tale unfold: Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon and marching his troops on Rome, power realigning itself as a proto-autocracy, and the savage battles fought by key players like Brutus and Cassius and Mark Antony and Octavian.
Centering so much of the story on Parmensis allows Stothard to craft a more miniature drama that’s at times intensely emotional – almost novelistic. He’s helped considerably in this by the fact that his primary source is Velleius Paterculus, a flamboyant historian not above telling tall tales if they made good reading. “He had a rhetorical style in which he too much pleaded to be believed,” Stothard writes. This meshes well with the melodrama of Parmensis, where “Some changed their stories; some had their stories changed. Imagination became memory.”
The assassin settled down in Athens and hoped that the past would leave him alone. As Stothard puts it, “He had reasons to fear but no reason to be uncomfortable.” Thanks to Stothard’s narrative skill, readers get a visceral sense of the jittery, clammy life Parmensis must have led in Athens, one ear cocked to every rumor from Rome, constantly suspicious of every new face.
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The past left him alone for 13 years, but he’d been a military commander as well as an assassin, and Octavian was nothing if not thorough. Eventually, a man named Quintus Attius Varus found Parmensis at his villa, killed him, and, anecdotally, brought one of Parmensis' tragedies – along with his head – back to Octavian.
“The Last Assassin” brings to vivid life the whole extended drama of the death of Julius Caesar and the rise of the young man who would become Augustus Caesar. It’s a remarkable reframing of that familiar old story.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Pushing the bounds of form in ‘The Glorious American Essay’

When it comes to essay anthologies , there ’ s a tradition so iron-clad and long-standing that it ’ s remarkably daring of editor Phillip Lopate , in the foreword of “ The Glorious American Essay : One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present , ” to natter for 16 whole pages before he gets around to asking “ But wait : what is an essay ?
” This question is practically constitutionally required when writing about essays .
In a narrative tradition going all the way back through Montaigne to Plutarch , editors , publishers , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised Deep Existential Questions in their introductions .
The essay form has so many fundamental identity problems you ’ d expect it to wear Goth eyeliner and moodily refuse to leave its room for family meals .
Given all this confusion , surely it ’ s long since time to settle the question .
So , for the record : an essay is a literary set of ruminations that can be read in one sitting .
See ?
Easy-peasy .
It ’ s Samuel Johnson ’ s “ loose sally of mind ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Literary ” – written to be read rather than declaimed – is a key word here .
Therefore Lopate ’ s decision to include explicitly nonliterary works such as speeches ( Elizabeth Cady Stanton ’ s magnificent 1892 speech “ The Solitude of Self , ” for instance , or Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s rousing “ Beyond Vietnam ” from 1967 ) does , strictly speaking , cross his own parameters .
Another crucial word in this definition is “ ruminations.
” Something excessively structured or programmatic should also be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Essay ” includes very methodical efforts like Alexander Hamilton ’ s “ Federalist No .
1 ” or “ The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements , ” a paper presented by Jane Addams in 1892 .
Same goes for “ in one sitting , ” which should have overruled Lopate ’ s decision to include excerpts from longer works like “ The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table ” by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. or “ Woman in the Nineteenth Century ” by Margaret Fuller .
Worthy as these passages are , they weren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they shouldn ’ t be taking up space that could have gone to things that were .
But Lopate admits that he broadened his admission standards for “ The Glorious American Essay ” to include “ every type of the beast , ” and that makes it invariably fascinating reading .
Even if readers only pay attention to entries that align with the aforementioned definition , there ’ s an almost embarrassing abundance of riches in these 900-plus pages .
Readers of Lopate ’ s seminal 1994 anthology “ The Art of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his skill at picking pieces that perfectly offset and interrogate each other .
Diving into one of his collections is always a delightful experience that involves encountering even the most familiar selections as if for the first time .
Inevitably for such a collection , there ’ s a bit of Emerson ’ s quasi-mystical flapdoodle , this time the essay “ Experience ” ( “ I clap my hands in infantine joy and amazement , ... old with the love and homage of innumerable ages , young with the life of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desert , ” etc. )
.
There ’ s “ Of Our Spiritual Strivings ” by W.E.B .
Du Bois , with his call for decency for the Black American : “ He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American , without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows , without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.
” Wonderfully , there ’ s Audre Lorde ’ s electrifying “ The Master 's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but we ’ re playing by Lopate ’ s loose rules here ) and also poor forgotten Theodore Dreiser ’ s brief , passionate hymn of praise to New York , “ The City of My Dreams ” ( “ A May or June moon will be hanging like a burnished silver disc between the high walls aloft ” ) .
Like so many essay anthology editors before him , Lopate includes here the 1741 sermon “ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ” by Jonathan Edwards , perhaps the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produced on this continent .
Back in 2016 editor John D'Agata likewise included “ Sinners in the Hands of the Angry God ” in his anthology “ The Making of the American Essay , ” which was the concluding volume in a trilogy of essay anthologies designed both to chart the essay ’ s development and to push its boundaries .
And even though he calls editing an anthology “ a chump ’ s game , ” Lopate intends “ The Glorious American Essay ” to be the first installment in another essay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plenty more room for beasts of all kinds , thankfully .

When it comes to essay anthologies, there’s a tradition so iron-clad and long-standing that it’s remarkably daring of editor Phillip Lopate, in the foreword of “The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present,” to natter for 16 whole pages before he gets around to asking “But wait: what is an essay?”
This question is practically constitutionally required when writing about essays. In a narrative tradition going all the way back through Montaigne to Plutarch, editors, publishers, and a whole miscellany of intellectuals have automatically raised Deep Existential Questions in their introductions. The essay form has so many fundamental identity problems you’d expect it to wear Goth eyeliner and moodily refuse to leave its room for family meals.
Given all this confusion, surely it’s long since time to settle the question. So, for the record: an essay is a literary set of ruminations that can be read in one sitting. See? Easy-peasy. It’s Samuel Johnson’s “loose sally of mind” with just a few common-sense parameters.
“Literary” – written to be read rather than declaimed – is a key word here. Therefore Lopate’s decision to include explicitly nonliterary works such as speeches (Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s magnificent 1892 speech “The Solitude of Self,” for instance, or Martin Luther King Jr.’s rousing “Beyond Vietnam” from 1967) does, strictly speaking, cross his own parameters.
Another crucial word in this definition is “ruminations.” Something excessively structured or programmatic should also be out-of-bounds. Yet “The Glorious American Essay” includes very methodical efforts like Alexander Hamilton’s “Federalist No. 1” or “The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements,” a paper presented by Jane Addams in 1892.
Same goes for “in one sitting,” which should have overruled Lopate’s decision to include excerpts from longer works like “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table” by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. or “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller. Worthy as these passages are, they weren’t conceived as stand-alone essays, so they shouldn’t be taking up space that could have gone to things that were.
But Lopate admits that he broadened his admission standards for “The Glorious American Essay” to include “every type of the beast,” and that makes it invariably fascinating reading. Even if readers only pay attention to entries that align with the aforementioned definition, there’s an almost embarrassing abundance of riches in these 900-plus pages. Readers of Lopate’s seminal 1994 anthology “The Art of the Personal Essay” will already be familiar with his skill at picking pieces that perfectly offset and interrogate each other. Diving into one of his collections is always a delightful experience that involves encountering even the most familiar selections as if for the first time.
Inevitably for such a collection, there’s a bit of Emerson’s quasi-mystical flapdoodle, this time the essay “Experience” (“I clap my hands in infantine joy and amazement, ... old with the love and homage of innumerable ages, young with the life of life, the sunbright Mecca of the desert,” etc.). There’s “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” by W.E.B. Du Bois, with his call for decency for the Black American: “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.”
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Wonderfully, there’s Audre Lorde’s electrifying “The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House” (technically a lecture, but we’re playing by Lopate’s loose rules here) and also poor forgotten Theodore Dreiser’s brief, passionate hymn of praise to New York, “The City of My Dreams” (“A May or June moon will be hanging like a burnished silver disc between the high walls aloft”). Like so many essay anthology editors before him, Lopate includes here the 1741 sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the single most demented piece of writing ever produced on this continent.
Back in 2016 editor John D'Agata likewise included “Sinners in the Hands of the Angry God” in his anthology “The Making of the American Essay,” which was the concluding volume in a trilogy of essay anthologies designed both to chart the essay’s development and to push its boundaries. And even though he calls editing an anthology “a chump’s game,” Lopate intends “The Glorious American Essay” to be the first installment in another essay trilogy. So there’ll be plenty more room for beasts of all kinds, thankfully.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Home is where the work is

Home is where the work is

For centuries the morning cry has been “ off to work we go.
” The workplace was at a distance , both physically and mentally , from our homes .
But the pandemic has left a good portion of workers – some 42 % of Americans , by one estimate – doing their jobs from their homes .
Those who don ’ t are largely “ essential workers ” whose work demands they leave home behind each day .
In some ways society has returned to the days before the 18th-century Industrial Revolution , when working from home was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might make brooms or shoes or weave cloth in their homes , often with material supplied by an employer .
( In Britain , houses had larger windows upstairs to let in sunlight where work was taking place , The Economist points out . )
When these home workers turned in the finished product , they were paid not by the hour but for each piece completed – a forerunner of today ’ s gig economy .
Working away from home brought advantages , though , including the ability to join together with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wages and improved working conditions .
Still , working from home wasn ’ t all bad .
People had control over when , and how long , they worked each day .
Parents were able to juggle child care and earning a living as needed .
In the United States , in fact , one set of data suggests that it wasn ’ t until 1914 that most people were employed outside the home .
Peering into 2021 it ’ s unclear when – or if – millions of people will return to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring back workers by spring or summer ; others aren ’ t even trying to project when it might happen .
The list of jobs possible from home keeps expanding too : The shop-at-home era created by Amazon et al .
has yielded thousands of new at-home jobs filling orders for call centers .
That has cushioned somewhat the huge job losses in service industries , such as restaurants and other retailers .
More opportunities are needed to absorb those workers , especially in communities of color disproportionately employed in the service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enjoy working from home .
For some the time saved in commuting is being happily reinvested in more time spent with family , one study suggests .
( But for workaholics , especially in management , work from home may just extend the workday . )
The concept of home as a haven of rest , shielded from the world of earning a living , is under revision .
The new generation of home-based workers is investing in equipment , furnishings , and gadgets that make their home work more enjoyable .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help create an oasis of calm in a busy household . )
People who ’ d never attended a Zoom meeting or engaged in a Slack conversation have become tech savvy much more quickly than they imagined possible .
Working from home may also mean work – and home – can exist anywhere .
This opens up the possibility to help with a care situation for a family member in another city or even to try life simplified down to an Airstream trailer .
Combining work with home can also require devising new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how to divvy up the household chores and child care to deciding who ’ ll get that prime spot with the morning sun or the lovely view to set up shop .
In time , no doubt , many workers will drift back to rubbing elbows in offices , at least part of the time .
But the home and work divide now has been forever breached .

For centuries the morning cry has been “off to work we go.” The workplace was at a distance, both physically and mentally, from our homes.
But the pandemic has left a good portion of workers – some 42% of Americans, by one estimate – doing their jobs from their homes. Those who don’t are largely “essential workers” whose work demands they leave home behind each day.
In some ways society has returned to the days before the 18th-century Industrial Revolution, when working from home was the norm. Then both men and women might make brooms or shoes or weave cloth in their homes, often with material supplied by an employer. (In Britain, houses had larger windows upstairs to let in sunlight where work was taking place, The Economist points out.) When these home workers turned in the finished product, they were paid not by the hour but for each piece completed – a forerunner of today’s gig economy.
Working away from home brought advantages, though, including the ability to join together with others to form labor unions that boosted wages and improved working conditions.
Still, working from home wasn’t all bad. People had control over when, and how long, they worked each day. Parents were able to juggle child care and earning a living as needed. In the United States, in fact, one set of data suggests that it wasn’t until 1914 that most people were employed outside the home.
Peering into 2021 it’s unclear when – or if – millions of people will return to offices. Some businesses have set goals to bring back workers by spring or summer; others aren’t even trying to project when it might happen.
The list of jobs possible from home keeps expanding too: The shop-at-home era created by Amazon et al. has yielded thousands of new at-home jobs filling orders for call centers. That has cushioned somewhat the huge job losses in service industries, such as restaurants and other retailers. More opportunities are needed to absorb those workers, especially in communities of color disproportionately employed in the service industries.
Many people have found they enjoy working from home. For some the time saved in commuting is being happily reinvested in more time spent with family, one study suggests. (But for workaholics, especially in management, work from home may just extend the workday.)
The concept of home as a haven of rest, shielded from the world of earning a living, is under revision.
The new generation of home-based workers is investing in equipment, furnishings, and gadgets that make their home work more enjoyable. (Noise-canceling headphones, for example, can help create an oasis of calm in a busy household.) People who’d never attended a Zoom meeting or engaged in a Slack conversation have become tech savvy much more quickly than they imagined possible.
Working from home may also mean work – and home – can exist anywhere. This opens up the possibility to help with a care situation for a family member in another city or even to try life simplified down to an Airstream trailer.
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Combining work with home can also require devising new ways of structuring family life, from how to divvy up the household chores and child care to deciding who’ll get that prime spot with the morning sun or the lovely view to set up shop.
In time, no doubt, many workers will drift back to rubbing elbows in offices, at least part of the time. But the home and work divide now has been forever breached.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Poor countries avert worst of pandemic, but not its economic fallout

And the problem is compounded by a slump in remittances from migrant workers who had gone to the Persian Gulf , to America , or to Europe , where the pandemic has reduced the demand for labor .
Remittances totaled $ 550 billion in 2019 , three times as much as official foreign aid budgets .
For many families this year , those monthly checks wired by distant relatives have dried up .
But they have not escaped the economic fallout , as the global economy has shrunk by nearly 5 % this year .
The economic slowdown and pandemic-induced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vulnerable out of work ; the World Bank estimates that as many as 115 million people have fallen into absolute poverty because of COVID-19 .
When COVID-19 began spreading worldwide back in March , experts warned that poor countries in Africa and Asia would bear the brunt of the pandemic .
In fact , while the coronavirus has scoured Europe and North America , death rates in the developing countries have generally been low .
When his furlough notice came in March , Kingsley Chukwuemeka Udeoji wasn ’ t too surprised .
Nigeria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the private high school in north-central Niger state where he taught math was sending students home .
The timing was awkward : Mr. Udeoji ’ s wife had quit her marketing job and just given birth to their first child , a daughter named Tiffany .
But he thought the shutdown would be short-lived , like the one during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that Nigeria managed to keep at bay .
It was not to be .
As Nigeria braced for a pandemic that many feared could sink its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kept prolonging the lockdown and Mr. Udeoji grew desperate as he spent down his savings .
“ The baby had to eat .
Mother had to eat .
I had to eat .
It got too much , ” he says .
Some 2,000 miles away , Hassan Ais , a factory owner in Mansoura , Egypt , was also flailing .
Sales of his beauty products had collapsed , and he had laid off all but one of his seven workers .
Nobody had much money to spare for nonessentials like shampoo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nile delta wasn ’ t simply the result of Egypt ’ s lockdown .
The source of the trouble lay farther away in the oil-rich Persian Gulf , where millions of Egyptian migrants ply their trades .
“ There are entire villages here that rely on citizens working the Gulf to send money home , ” says Mr. Ais .
“ With their salaries cut or them being let go , purchasing power suddenly is extremely limited.
” Nigeria and Egypt are examples of developing countries that averted runaway pandemics in 2020 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only to face economic crises due to social restrictions at home and an unprecedented global collapse in trade , travel , and capital flows .
This includes remittances from migrants who funnel money from better-off nations to some of the poorest .
This year the IMF says the global economy is expected to have shrunk by 4.4 % , nearly three times as much as in 2009 , the height of the last financial crisis .
And the proportion of countries simultaneously in recession is the highest in over a century ; among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus was first detected , will post economic growth .
Back in March , when COVID-19 began spreading widely , experts warned that poor countries in Asia and Africa would bear the brunt of the disease .
Instead , the pandemic has scoured rich countries in Europe and North America , while many in the developing world have recorded far fewer deaths per capita .
In Nigeria , a nation of 200 million , the official death toll is 1,200 .
Vietnam has 96 million people ; only 35 of them are reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hasn ’ t spared developing countries from the economic shock of COVID-19 .
Far from it : The number of people living in extreme poverty – on less than $ 1.90 a day – is thought to have risen by as many as 115 million in 2020 after declining every year for more than two decades .
Not all developing countries have dodged the health bullet : India has recorded the second highest number of confirmed cases , behind the United States .
And in Latin America , rampant COVID-19 outbreaks and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death and economic ruin ; the region ’ s economy is expected to shrink nearly twice as much as the world average .
“ The places that are feeling the worst pain are seeing the worst of both worlds , ” says Michael Wolf , a U.S.-based global economist at Deloitte , a business consultancy .
Even countries like Thailand and Vietnam that swiftly contained the pandemic suffered from a slump in tourism , a mainstay of their economies .
“ It wasn ’ t just about how well you were doing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industries were concentrated within your borders , ” says Mr. Wolf .
For Nigeria , that industry is oil , which accounts for nearly two-thirds of government income .
In April , oil cargoes sat in Nigerian ports as China and other buyers suspended imports during the downturn .
By July , Mr. Udeoji was at his wits ’ end .
Local lockdowns had eased , but schools remained closed and the price of food had soared .
Fitful government efforts to distribute food aid fell short amid accusations of corruption and hoarding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his rent due , he turned to Twitter .
“ Survival has been difficult since school closure , ” he tweeted , posting a photo of his family .
“ I need online private coaching opportunities or any job ... please help.
” Strangers responded , offering to make donations .
Soon he had money to help pay the rent and buy supplies for his baby daughter .
In October , Nigeria reopened schools and Mr. Udeoji went back to work ; he has started to save again .
His wife is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him now is that the new uptick in coronavirus cases in Nigeria might lead the authorities to impose another lockdown .
“ We have tested [ lockdown ] and it did not work , ” he complains .
“ Look at the market , things are like three times what it used to be .
They shouldn ’ t even think about it because Nigeria is not ready.
” Nigeria isn ’ t the only African country facing a second COVID-19 wave .
In recent weeks , Kenya and South Africa have tightened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and South Africa is confronting a new variant of the virus thought to be more highly transmissible .
Still , the overall trend in Africa has defied the doomsayers .
The continent has 17 % of the world ’ s population but roughly 3 % of reported pandemic deaths .
Experts point to demographics – Nigeria ’ s median age is 18 – and climate and lifestyles as possible factors in the disease ’ s trajectory .
Life-and-death experience with diseases like Ebola also prepared public health officials in West Africa better than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 data is limited by testing capacity , and some countries may be undercounting , but early and aggressive government interventions appear to have largely worked .
The Middle East has not escaped so lightly ; Iran has been particularly hard-hit , while wars in Syria and Yemen have decimated health systems .
But just as catastrophic for the region was the crash in the price of oil at the same time that lockdowns choked local commerce .
“ The magnitude of these combined shocks has been quite severe , ” says Daniel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank .
These shocks have slashed job opportunities for the estimated 30 million migrants working in Gulf countries who send home at least $ 70 billion a year , according to the Gulf Research Center in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia .
A many as 1.2 million migrants could leave Saudi Arabia this year .
All told , global remittances from migrants were worth roughly $ 548 billion in 2019 , three times the combined size of official foreign aid budgets .
“ These are private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the poorest and most vulnerable families , ” says Mr. Lederman .
Cash transfers from Somali expatriates make up more than a third of Somalia ’ s economy .
Wages paid in Russia flow back home to families across Central Asia .
Central Americans rely on remittances from the U.S .
The Philippines dispatches workers to every corner of the globe .
Dilip Ratha , the World Bank ’ s lead economist on migration and remittances , points to studies showing that in Sri Lanka , babies born to families receiving remittances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Migrant wages pay school fees , housing , and medical bills .
“ They ’ re a great vehicle for sharing prosperity between places , ” he says .
But now that vehicle ’ s engine is sputtering : Mr. Ratha ’ s research suggests that remittances to low- and middle-income countries have fallen by 7 % this year , and that “ the worst is not over yet , ” in his words .
“ There is no scope for complacency.
” In countries like Egypt , where remittances normally account @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 effect is already reverberating .
Mr. Ais shut his shampoo factory this month after waiting for a pickup in remittances to his customers that has not happened .
The country expects as many as a million migrants , one-fifth of its overseas workforce , to return home from the Gulf this year .
Others too have lost their jobs abroad .
Reba Abdul Halim worked for 15 years in a dairy factory in Amman , sending back at least $ 600 a month to his wife and four children in Egypt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he moved back to his home village .
Money is tight , and his children no longer attend private schools .
He complains that his life is on hold .
“ You can ’ t climb your way out of economic hardship in a rural village in Egypt .
There are no opportunities , ” he says .
Opportunity is what drew Marjorie Chong , a Filipina , to the United Kingdom in 2004 .
In April , she was furloughed by her employer in London , and when government wage support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part-time job at a migrant-rights nonprofit .
She has been sending less money back this year .
She is hopeful that she can find a full-time job and start remitting more to her mother-in-law and to charities again .
But for now , Ms. Chong is clinging on in London , not sure how much she can spare .
“ We ’ re all thinking about what we send , ” she says .
“ I don ’ t have much here .
I have to eat first .
”

Many developing countries have weathered COVID-19 better than expected, health-wise. But they have not escaped the economic sting in the pandemic’s tail.
And the problem is compounded by a slump in remittances from migrant workers who had gone to the Persian Gulf, to America, or to Europe, where the pandemic has reduced the demand for labor. Remittances totaled $550 billion in 2019, three times as much as official foreign aid budgets. For many families this year, those monthly checks wired by distant relatives have dried up.
But they have not escaped the economic fallout, as the global economy has shrunk by nearly 5% this year. The economic slowdown and pandemic-induced lockdowns have thrown millions of the most vulnerable out of work; the World Bank estimates that as many as 115 million people have fallen into absolute poverty because of COVID-19.
When COVID-19 began spreading worldwide back in March, experts warned that poor countries in Africa and Asia would bear the brunt of the pandemic. In fact, while the coronavirus has scoured Europe and North America, death rates in the developing countries have generally been low.
When his furlough notice came in March, Kingsley Chukwuemeka Udeoji wasn’t too surprised. Nigeria had announced a partial COVID-19 lockdown, and the private high school in north-central Niger state where he taught math was sending students home.
The timing was awkward: Mr. Udeoji’s wife had quit her marketing job and just given birth to their first child, a daughter named Tiffany. But he thought the shutdown would be short-lived, like the one during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that Nigeria managed to keep at bay.
It was not to be. As Nigeria braced for a pandemic that many feared could sink its patchy health care system, the government kept prolonging the lockdown and Mr. Udeoji grew desperate as he spent down his savings. “The baby had to eat. Mother had to eat. I had to eat. It got too much,” he says.
Why We Wrote This Many developing countries have weathered COVID-19 better than expected, health-wise. But they have not escaped the economic sting in the pandemic’s tail.
Some 2,000 miles away, Hassan Ais, a factory owner in Mansoura, Egypt, was also flailing.
Sales of his beauty products had collapsed, and he had laid off all but one of his seven workers. Nobody had much money to spare for nonessentials like shampoo. But the economic hardship in the Nile delta wasn’t simply the result of Egypt’s lockdown. The source of the trouble lay farther away in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, where millions of Egyptian migrants ply their trades.
“There are entire villages here that rely on citizens working the Gulf to send money home,” says Mr. Ais. “With their salaries cut or them being let go, purchasing power suddenly is extremely limited.”
Nigeria and Egypt are examples of developing countries that averted runaway pandemics in 2020, to the relief of health officials, only to face economic crises due to social restrictions at home and an unprecedented global collapse in trade, travel, and capital flows. This includes remittances from migrants who funnel money from better-off nations to some of the poorest.
A shrinking economy
This year the IMF says the global economy is expected to have shrunk by 4.4%, nearly three times as much as in 2009, the height of the last financial crisis. And the proportion of countries simultaneously in recession is the highest in over a century; among major economies only China, where the virus was first detected, will post economic growth.
Back in March, when COVID-19 began spreading widely, experts warned that poor countries in Asia and Africa would bear the brunt of the disease. Instead, the pandemic has scoured rich countries in Europe and North America, while many in the developing world have recorded far fewer deaths per capita. In Nigeria, a nation of 200 million, the official death toll is 1,200. Vietnam has 96 million people; only 35 of them are reported to have died of COVID-19.
But that hasn’t spared developing countries from the economic shock of COVID-19. Far from it: The number of people living in extreme poverty – on less than $1.90 a day – is thought to have risen by as many as 115 million in 2020 after declining every year for more than two decades.
Not all developing countries have dodged the health bullet: India has recorded the second highest number of confirmed cases, behind the United States. And in Latin America, rampant COVID-19 outbreaks and haphazard governance have left a trail of death and economic ruin; the region’s economy is expected to shrink nearly twice as much as the world average.
“The places that are feeling the worst pain are seeing the worst of both worlds,” says Michael Wolf, a U.S.-based global economist at Deloitte, a business consultancy.
Even countries like Thailand and Vietnam that swiftly contained the pandemic suffered from a slump in tourism, a mainstay of their economies. “It wasn’t just about how well you were doing in terms of health outcomes, but what industries were concentrated within your borders,” says Mr. Wolf.
Rebounding in Nigeria
For Nigeria, that industry is oil, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of government income. In April, oil cargoes sat in Nigerian ports as China and other buyers suspended imports during the downturn.
By July, Mr. Udeoji was at his wits’ end. Local lockdowns had eased, but schools remained closed and the price of food had soared. Fitful government efforts to distribute food aid fell short amid accusations of corruption and hoarding.
One morning, his savings exhausted and his rent due, he turned to Twitter. “Survival has been difficult since school closure,” he tweeted, posting a photo of his family. “I need online private coaching opportunities or any job ... please help.”
Strangers responded, offering to make donations. Soon he had money to help pay the rent and buy supplies for his baby daughter.
In October, Nigeria reopened schools and Mr. Udeoji went back to work; he has started to save again. His wife is looking for a job. What worries him now is that the new uptick in coronavirus cases in Nigeria might lead the authorities to impose another lockdown.
“We have tested [lockdown] and it did not work,” he complains. “Look at the market, things are like three times what it used to be. They shouldn’t even think about it because Nigeria is not ready.”
Nigeria isn’t the only African country facing a second COVID-19 wave. In recent weeks, Kenya and South Africa have tightened social controls to curb the pandemic, and South Africa is confronting a new variant of the virus thought to be more highly transmissible.
Still, the overall trend in Africa has defied the doomsayers. The continent has 17% of the world’s population but roughly 3% of reported pandemic deaths.
Experts point to demographics – Nigeria’s median age is 18 – and climate and lifestyles as possible factors in the disease’s trajectory. Life-and-death experience with diseases like Ebola also prepared public health officials in West Africa better than health workers in many Western countries. COVID-19 data is limited by testing capacity, and some countries may be undercounting, but early and aggressive government interventions appear to have largely worked.
Migrant workers hit hard
The Middle East has not escaped so lightly; Iran has been particularly hard-hit, while wars in Syria and Yemen have decimated health systems. But just as catastrophic for the region was the crash in the price of oil at the same time that lockdowns choked local commerce. “The magnitude of these combined shocks has been quite severe,” says Daniel Lederman, deputy chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank.
These shocks have slashed job opportunities for the estimated 30 million migrants working in Gulf countries who send home at least $70 billion a year, according to the Gulf Research Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A many as 1.2 million migrants could leave Saudi Arabia this year.
All told, global remittances from migrants were worth roughly $548 billion in 2019, three times the combined size of official foreign aid budgets. “These are private transfers that support domestic consumption, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable families,” says Mr. Lederman.
Cash transfers from Somali expatriates make up more than a third of Somalia’s economy. Wages paid in Russia flow back home to families across Central Asia. Central Americans rely on remittances from the U.S. The Philippines dispatches workers to every corner of the globe.
Dilip Ratha, the World Bank’s lead economist on migration and remittances, points to studies showing that in Sri Lanka, babies born to families receiving remittances weigh more because their mothers eat better. Migrant wages pay school fees, housing, and medical bills. “They’re a great vehicle for sharing prosperity between places,” he says. But now that vehicle’s engine is sputtering: Mr. Ratha’s research suggests that remittances to low- and middle-income countries have fallen by 7% this year, and that “the worst is not over yet,” in his words. “There is no scope for complacency.”
Nariman El-Mofty/AP View caption Hide caption Football defender Mahrous Mahmoud (right) makes Ramadan sweets at a souq, in Manfalut, Egypt, a town south of Cairo, May 9, 2020. Mr. Mahmoud should have been on the field for Beni Suef, a club in Egypt's second division. But like millions in the Arab world's most populous country, he was hit hard by the pandemic.
Replacing remittances
In countries like Egypt, where remittances normally account for nearly 7% of GDP, the COVID-19 effect is already reverberating. Mr. Ais shut his shampoo factory this month after waiting for a pickup in remittances to his customers that has not happened. The country expects as many as a million migrants, one-fifth of its overseas workforce, to return home from the Gulf this year.
Others too have lost their jobs abroad. Reba Abdul Halim worked for 15 years in a dairy factory in Amman, sending back at least $600 a month to his wife and four children in Egypt. After the factory closed this summer, he moved back to his home village. Money is tight, and his children no longer attend private schools. He complains that his life is on hold.
“You can’t climb your way out of economic hardship in a rural village in Egypt. There are no opportunities,” he says.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Opportunity is what drew Marjorie Chong, a Filipina, to the United Kingdom in 2004. In April, she was furloughed by her employer in London, and when government wage support ran out in October she took a part-time job at a migrant-rights nonprofit. She has been sending less money back this year.
She is hopeful that she can find a full-time job and start remitting more to her mother-in-law and to charities again. But for now, Ms. Chong is clinging on in London, not sure how much she can spare. “We’re all thinking about what we send,” she says. “I don’t have much here. I have to eat first.”


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Christmas is coming, though it looks different across the globe

In Peru , you can ’ t drive your car on Christmas .
In Lebanon , you can go to a nightclub , but you can ’ t dance .
In South Africa , roadblocks instead of beach parties will mark this year ’ s festive season .
How many people can you share a Christmas meal with ?
France recommends no more than six , in Chile it ’ s 15 , and in Brazil it ’ s as many as you want .
Meanwhile , Italy ’ s mind-boggling , color-coded holiday virus rules change almost every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world are trying to find the right formulas to keep their people safe for Christmas , especially as new virus variants prompt renewed travel bans and fuel resurgent infections , hospitalizations , and deaths at the end of an already devastating year .
Here ’ s a look at some of the restrictions around the world for the holiday season : It was meant to be a time when families across the United Kingdom could enjoy something like a normal Christmas despite the pandemic .
Authorities planned to relax restrictions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the days around Dec. 25 .
The emergence of a new , more contagious variant of the coronavirus changed that .
The four nations of the U.K. – England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland – are all in various states of shutdown and have ditched their Christmas plans .
No indoor mixing of households is allowed in London and southeast England .
Instead of Christmas joy , a sense of dread and isolation is looming .
Dozens of countries have limited flights from Britain , and daily new infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the U.K. , which has Europe ’ s second-highest virus-related death toll at over 68,000 , are heading towards capacity at a time of year when other illnesses abound .
In Brazil , Christmas 2020 will look much like normal – even though the country has been among the world ’ s hardest-hit by the pandemic and new COVID-19 infections are now on track to match the peak of the first surge .
Many beaches and restaurants in Rio de Janeiro were packed last weekend , despite a city measure forbidding drivers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national restrictions have been imposed ahead of Christmas , though the governor of São Paulo ordered that only essential services such as public transport , supermarkets , and pharmacies remain open around Christmas and New Year ’ s Eve .
Sao Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , and Salvador have also called off their Dec. 31 firework displays .
South Africa is targeting beaches and alcohol as it imposes new restrictions for the Christmas season amid resurgent infections .
Alcohol can only be sold Monday through Thursday , and a nighttime curfew is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attractions this time of year – will be closed on Christmas Eve , Christmas Day , and New Year ’ s Day .
The government is urging people to avoid crowded Christmas celebrations , but indoor gatherings of up to 100 people are still allowed ; outdoors , up to 250 people can congregate .
Police are setting up roadblocks to slow a second surge of infections that authorities and scientists say is being fueled by another variant of the virus , one distinct from the variant affecting England .
Some countries are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekly infections and deaths have doubled over the past two weeks .
Unlike much of the world , Lebanon eased restrictions during the holidays , hoping to inject foreign currency into a tanking economy .
Tens of thousands of Lebanese expats have arrived home for the holidays , leading to fears of an inevitable surge in infections .
Last week , the Interior Ministry allowed nightclubs to reopen – but said dancing will be prohibited .
That triggered a debate on social media about what constitutes dancing .
Lebanon ’ s health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that struck amid an unprecedented financial crisis .
The massive Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut ’ s port only increased pressure on the city ’ s hospitals , knocking out at least three of them .
Newspapers in Italy are running color-coded graphics that resemble children ’ s board games to help people keep track of the rules aimed at limiting new infections over the holidays .
Travel between regions is banned for 16 days , and a curfew begins at 10 p.m. From Dec. 24-27 , “ red ” rules kick in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pharmacies , and hairdressers .
Two people can visit the home of another family member and bring children younger than 14 with them .
Restaurants and cafes can ’ t serve customers , although takeout and home delivery are allowed .
From Dec. 28-30 , Italians segue into “ orange ” rules , when non-essential shops can re-open , although dining out is still banned .
Things turn red again for Dec. 31-Jan. 3 , orange for Jan. 4 , then red again on Jan. 5-6 for the national holiday on Epiphany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private social gatherings of five or more people and closing tourist spots from Christmas Eve through at least Jan. 3 .
National parks and coastal tourist sites , where thousands travel to watch the sunrise on the new year , will close .
So will churches and skiing , sledding , and skating venues .
Restaurants could face fines of up to $ 2,700 if they serve groups of five or more .
The greater Seoul area , home to half of the country ’ s 51 million people , has been at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past weeks that has overwhelmed hospitals , increased death tolls , and raised questions as to how the government is handling the outbreak , after winning global praise for its response earlier in the year .
Forty-eight COVID-19 patients have died in the deadliest two days since the pandemic began .
The United States has issued no nationwide restrictions on travel , a decision left to state governments , but a federal agency is advising against criss-crossing the country for the Christmas season .
Still , millions of people have passed through airport @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company AAA predicted that nearly 85 million Americans would be journeying during the holidays – a 29 % decline from last year .
The U.S. has reported by far the most virus infections and deaths in the world , over 18 million cases and 322,800 deaths , according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University .
Even before Christmas , new cases have been rising over the past two weeks .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .

In Peru, you can’t drive your car on Christmas. In Lebanon, you can go to a nightclub, but you can’t dance. In South Africa, roadblocks instead of beach parties will mark this year’s festive season.
How many people can you share a Christmas meal with? France recommends no more than six, in Chile it’s 15, and in Brazil it’s as many as you want. Meanwhile, Italy’s mind-boggling, color-coded holiday virus rules change almost every day for the next two weeks.
Countries around the world are trying to find the right formulas to keep their people safe for Christmas, especially as new virus variants prompt renewed travel bans and fuel resurgent infections, hospitalizations, and deaths at the end of an already devastating year.
Here’s a look at some of the restrictions around the world for the holiday season:
Britain
It was meant to be a time when families across the United Kingdom could enjoy something like a normal Christmas despite the pandemic. Authorities planned to relax restrictions, allowing up to three households to mix in the days around Dec. 25.
The emergence of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus changed that.
The four nations of the U.K. – England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – are all in various states of shutdown and have ditched their Christmas plans. No indoor mixing of households is allowed in London and southeast England.
Instead of Christmas joy, a sense of dread and isolation is looming. Dozens of countries have limited flights from Britain, and daily new infections are running at record highs. Hospitals across the U.K., which has Europe’s second-highest virus-related death toll at over 68,000, are heading towards capacity at a time of year when other illnesses abound.
Brazil
In Brazil, Christmas 2020 will look much like normal – even though the country has been among the world’s hardest-hit by the pandemic and new COVID-19 infections are now on track to match the peak of the first surge.
Many beaches and restaurants in Rio de Janeiro were packed last weekend, despite a city measure forbidding drivers to park along the shore.
No national restrictions have been imposed ahead of Christmas, though the governor of São Paulo ordered that only essential services such as public transport, supermarkets, and pharmacies remain open around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador have also called off their Dec. 31 firework displays.
South Africa
South Africa is targeting beaches and alcohol as it imposes new restrictions for the Christmas season amid resurgent infections.
Alcohol can only be sold Monday through Thursday, and a nighttime curfew is in place. Beaches – major tourist attractions this time of year – will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
The government is urging people to avoid crowded Christmas celebrations, but indoor gatherings of up to 100 people are still allowed; outdoors, up to 250 people can congregate.
Police are setting up roadblocks to slow a second surge of infections that authorities and scientists say is being fueled by another variant of the virus, one distinct from the variant affecting England. Some countries are banning flights from South Africa, where the weekly infections and deaths have doubled over the past two weeks.
Lebanon
Unlike much of the world, Lebanon eased restrictions during the holidays, hoping to inject foreign currency into a tanking economy. Tens of thousands of Lebanese expats have arrived home for the holidays, leading to fears of an inevitable surge in infections.
Last week, the Interior Ministry allowed nightclubs to reopen – but said dancing will be prohibited. That triggered a debate on social media about what constitutes dancing.
Lebanon’s health sector has been challenged by the pandemic that struck amid an unprecedented financial crisis. The massive Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port only increased pressure on the city’s hospitals, knocking out at least three of them.
Italy
Newspapers in Italy are running color-coded graphics that resemble children’s board games to help people keep track of the rules aimed at limiting new infections over the holidays. Travel between regions is banned for 16 days, and a curfew begins at 10 p.m.
From Dec. 24-27, “red” rules kick in, closing all shops except food stores, pharmacies, and hairdressers. Two people can visit the home of another family member and bring children younger than 14 with them. Restaurants and cafes can’t serve customers, although takeout and home delivery are allowed.
From Dec. 28-30, Italians segue into “orange” rules, when non-essential shops can re-open, although dining out is still banned. Things turn red again for Dec. 31-Jan. 3, orange for Jan. 4, then red again on Jan. 5-6 for the national holiday on Epiphany.
South Korea
South Korea is clamping down on private social gatherings of five or more people and closing tourist spots from Christmas Eve through at least Jan. 3.
National parks and coastal tourist sites, where thousands travel to watch the sunrise on the new year, will close. So will churches and skiing, sledding, and skating venues. Restaurants could face fines of up to $2,700 if they serve groups of five or more.
The greater Seoul area, home to half of the country’s 51 million people, has been at the center of a viral resurgence in past weeks that has overwhelmed hospitals, increased death tolls, and raised questions as to how the government is handling the outbreak, after winning global praise for its response earlier in the year.
Forty-eight COVID-19 patients have died in the deadliest two days since the pandemic began.
The United States
The United States has issued no nationwide restrictions on travel, a decision left to state governments, but a federal agency is advising against criss-crossing the country for the Christmas season.
Still, millions of people have passed through airport security in recent days. The travel company AAA predicted that nearly 85 million Americans would be journeying during the holidays – a 29% decline from last year.
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The U.S. has reported by far the most virus infections and deaths in the world, over 18 million cases and 322,800 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Even before Christmas, new cases have been rising over the past two weeks.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Trump pardons allies, contractors convicted in Iraqi massacre

United States President Donald Trump announced pardons for 15 people on Tuesday , including a pair of congressional Republicans who were strong and early supporters , a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe , and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad .
Mr. Trump ’ s actions in his final weeks in office show a president who is wielding his executive power to reward loyalists and others who he believes have been wronged by a legal system he sees as biased against him and his allies .
Mr. Trump issued the pardons – not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – even as he refused to publicly acknowledge his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden , who will be sworn in on Jan. 20 .
Mr. Trump is likely to issue more pardons before then .
He and his allies have discussed a range of other possibilities , including members of Mr. Trump ’ s family and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani .
Those pardoned on Tuesday included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York , two of the earliest GOP lawmakers to back Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commuted the sentences of five people , including former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas .
Mr. Collins , the first member of Congress to endorse Mr. Trump to be president , was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after admitting he helped his son and others dodge $ 800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed .
Mr. Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daughter ’ s birthday party .
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the pardons for Mr. Hunter and Mr. Collins were granted after “ the request of many members of Congress.
” She noted that Mr. Hunter served the nation in the U.S. Marines and saw combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan .
Also in the group announced Tuesday night were four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nicholas Slatten , Paul Slough , Evan Liberty , and Dustin Heard , the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide , had lobbied for pardons , arguing that the men had been excessively punished in an investigation and prosecution they said was tainted by problems and withheld exculpatory evidence .
All four were serving lengthy prison sentences .
The pardons reflected Mr. Trump ’ s apparent willingness to give the benefit of doubt to American service members and contractors when it comes to acts of violence in war zones against civilians .
Last November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commando who was set to stand trial next year in the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker and a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans .
Mr. Trump also announced pardons for two people entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s Russia investigation .
One was for 2016 campaign adviser George Papadopoulos , who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about a conversation in which he learned that Russia had dirt on Mr. Trump ’ s Democratic opponent , Hillary Clinton .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zwaan , a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators during the Mueller probe .
Mr. Van der Zwaan and Mr. Papadopoulos are the third and fourth Russia investigation defendants granted clemency .
By pardoning them , Mr. Trump once again took aim at Mr. Mueller ’ s inquiry and advanced a broader effort to undo the results of an investigation that yielded criminal charges against a half-dozen associates .
The pardons drew criticism from top Democrats .
Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif. , the chairman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Intelligence , said the president was abusing his power .
“ Trump is doling out pardons , not on the basis of repentance , restitution , or the interests of justice , but to reward his friends and political allies , to protect those who lie to cover up him , to shelter those guilty of killing civilians , and to undermine an investigation that uncovered massive wrongdoing , ” Mr. Schiff said .
Last month , Mr. Trump pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn , who had twice pleaded guilty to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier commuted the sentence of another associate , Roger Stone , days before he was to report to prison .
Mr. Trump has granted about 2 % of requested pardons in his single term in office – just 27 before Tuesday ’ s announcement .
By comparison , Barack Obama granted 212 or 6 % , and George W. Bush granted 189 or about 7 % .
George H.W .
Bush , another one-term president , granted 10 % of requests .
Also among those pardoned by Mr. Trump was Phil Lyman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ATV protest through restricted federal lands .
Mr. Lyman was serving as a Utah county commissioner in 2014 when he led about 50 ATV riders in a canyon where there are Native American cliff dwellings that officials had closed to motorized traffic .
The ride occurred during a sputtering movement in the West pushing back against federal control of large swaths of land and came after an armed confrontation Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had with Bureau of Land Management over grazing fees .
Mr. Lyman spent 10 days in prison and was ordered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Trump administration in 2017 lifted a ban on motorized vehicles in parts of the canyon but left restrictions in place through other areas where Mr. Lyman led his ride .
Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents were also pardoned , Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean , convicted of shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler near El Paso , Texas , in 2005 .
Others on the list included a Pittsburgh dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud , two women convicted of drug crimes , and Alfred Lee Crum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1952 when he was 19 to helping his wife ’ s uncle illegally distill moonshine .
Mr. Crum served three years of probation and paid a $ 250 fine .
The White House said Mr. Crum has maintained a clean record and a strong marriage for nearly 70 years , attended the same church for 60 years , raised four children , and regularly participated in charity fundraising events .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writers Zeke Miller , Jill Colvin , and Michael Balsamo in Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed to this report .

Colleen Long, Kevin Freking, and Eric Tucker

United States President Donald Trump announced pardons for 15 people on Tuesday, including a pair of congressional Republicans who were strong and early supporters, a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe, and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.
Mr. Trump’s actions in his final weeks in office show a president who is wielding his executive power to reward loyalists and others who he believes have been wronged by a legal system he sees as biased against him and his allies. Mr. Trump issued the pardons – not an unusual act for an outgoing president – even as he refused to publicly acknowledge his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20.
Mr. Trump is likely to issue more pardons before then. He and his allies have discussed a range of other possibilities, including members of Mr. Trump’s family and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Those pardoned on Tuesday included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York, two of the earliest GOP lawmakers to back Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump also commuted the sentences of five people, including former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas.
Mr. Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Mr. Trump to be president, was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after admitting he helped his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed.
Mr. Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on everything from outings with friends to his daughter’s birthday party.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the pardons for Mr. Hunter and Mr. Collins were granted after “the request of many members of Congress.” She noted that Mr. Hunter served the nation in the U.S. Marines and saw combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also in the group announced Tuesday night were four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone.
Supporters of Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard, the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide, had lobbied for pardons, arguing that the men had been excessively punished in an investigation and prosecution they said was tainted by problems and withheld exculpatory evidence. All four were serving lengthy prison sentences.
The pardons reflected Mr. Trump’s apparent willingness to give the benefit of doubt to American service members and contractors when it comes to acts of violence in war zones against civilians. Last November, he pardoned a former U.S. Army commando who was set to stand trial next year in the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker and a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans.
Mr. Trump also announced pardons for two people entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. One was for 2016 campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about a conversation in which he learned that Russia had dirt on Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The president also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators during the Mueller probe.
Mr. Van der Zwaan and Mr. Papadopoulos are the third and fourth Russia investigation defendants granted clemency. By pardoning them, Mr. Trump once again took aim at Mr. Mueller’s inquiry and advanced a broader effort to undo the results of an investigation that yielded criminal charges against a half-dozen associates.
The pardons drew criticism from top Democrats. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the president was abusing his power.
“Trump is doling out pardons, not on the basis of repentance, restitution, or the interests of justice, but to reward his friends and political allies, to protect those who lie to cover up him, to shelter those guilty of killing civilians, and to undermine an investigation that uncovered massive wrongdoing,” Mr. Schiff said.
Last month, Mr. Trump pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and months earlier commuted the sentence of another associate, Roger Stone, days before he was to report to prison.
Mr. Trump has granted about 2% of requested pardons in his single term in office – just 27 before Tuesday’s announcement. By comparison, Barack Obama granted 212 or 6%, and George W. Bush granted 189 or about 7%. George H.W. Bush, another one-term president, granted 10% of requests.
Also among those pardoned by Mr. Trump was Phil Lyman, a Utah state representative who led an ATV protest through restricted federal lands.
Mr. Lyman was serving as a Utah county commissioner in 2014 when he led about 50 ATV riders in a canyon where there are Native American cliff dwellings that officials had closed to motorized traffic. The ride occurred during a sputtering movement in the West pushing back against federal control of large swaths of land and came after an armed confrontation Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had with Bureau of Land Management over grazing fees.
Mr. Lyman spent 10 days in prison and was ordered to pay nearly $96,000 in restitution. The Trump administration in 2017 lifted a ban on motorized vehicles in parts of the canyon but left restrictions in place through other areas where Mr. Lyman led his ride.
Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents were also pardoned, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, convicted of shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler near El Paso, Texas, in 2005.
Others on the list included a Pittsburgh dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud, two women convicted of drug crimes, and Alfred Lee Crum, now 89, who pleaded guilty in 1952 when he was 19 to helping his wife’s uncle illegally distill moonshine.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Mr. Crum served three years of probation and paid a $250 fine. The White House said Mr. Crum has maintained a clean record and a strong marriage for nearly 70 years, attended the same church for 60 years, raised four children, and regularly participated in charity fundraising events.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, and Michael Balsamo in Washington, and Michelle Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-12-23--Seeing a very different 2020

Seeing a very different 2020

If you click here , you will find something conspicuously intended to encourage you to reconsider the year now almost completed .
It is an overview of all 274 points of progress The Christian Science Monitor has chronicled in 2020 .
It goes without saying that 2020 has not been the brightest of years .
Considering political partisanship , racial unrest , and the pandemic , the world would probably have been quite happy to take two 2019s and move straight on to 2021 .
But despite all the hardship and heartache , that would miss something important .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the founder of the Monitor , Mary Baker Eddy , wrote , “ Progress is the law of infinity.
” That is not to say that everything is blithely and blindly called progress out of some naive optimism .
But it is to say that no experience , however severe , comes without a lesson and an opportunity for growth .
Do we always listen to that lesson ?
Do we always get it right ?
Of course not .
Yet this growth creates a direction .
Martin Luther King Jr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ the arc of the moral universe is long , but it bends toward justice.
” Physicists are still not entirely clear on why time runs only in one direction .
Yet our experiences suggest it does .
So it is with progress .
Years or decades or perhaps even centuries can appear to stall the march of progress , even reverse it .
The picture can be bleak .
Yet even then , progress is still flowing like a stream beneath the surface .
In a year like 2020 , our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surely a small fraction of all the progress that occurred ) might seem inconsequential beside the anger and anguish of the year ’ s larger stories .
Yet how are we to find our way out of the pandemic ?
Toxic partisanship ?
Racial hatred and ignorance ?
Precisely by learning the lessons of progress , wherever they may be found .
I recently talked to Cassie Chambers Armstrong , the author of “ Hill Women , ” which chronicles the generations of strong , resourceful Appalachian women who helped her on her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She grew up in the poorest county in Appalachia – and the United States – and here is her view of the seemingly intractable poverty that affects the region : “ The place has all the skills it needs to solve its own problems.
” The solution , she says , is already present in Appalachia ’ s ingenuity , its resilience , and its deep community connections .
The way forward is in building on those strengths , which often seem hidden ( to outsiders ) , not in treating it as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The same could be said of 2020 , in a way .
The seed of a better 2021 is the progress made in 2020 , humbly and honestly probed to learn its best lessons .
Whether we heed those lessons is up to us .
But we can be sure of one thing : There will be more progress to learn from next year .

If you click here, you will find something conspicuously intended to encourage you to reconsider the year now almost completed. It is an overview of all 274 points of progress The Christian Science Monitor has chronicled in 2020.
It goes without saying that 2020 has not been the brightest of years. Considering political partisanship, racial unrest, and the pandemic, the world would probably have been quite happy to take two 2019s and move straight on to 2021. But despite all the hardship and heartache, that would miss something important.
In an article titled “The New Birth,” the founder of the Monitor, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote, “Progress is the law of infinity.” That is not to say that everything is blithely and blindly called progress out of some naive optimism. But it is to say that no experience, however severe, comes without a lesson and an opportunity for growth. Do we always listen to that lesson? Do we always get it right? Of course not. Yet this growth creates a direction. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed to this direction in his statement that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Physicists are still not entirely clear on why time runs only in one direction. Yet our experiences suggest it does. So it is with progress. Years or decades or perhaps even centuries can appear to stall the march of progress, even reverse it. The picture can be bleak. Yet even then, progress is still flowing like a stream beneath the surface.
In a year like 2020, our 274 points of progress (which are surely a small fraction of all the progress that occurred) might seem inconsequential beside the anger and anguish of the year’s larger stories. Yet how are we to find our way out of the pandemic? Toxic partisanship? Racial hatred and ignorance? Precisely by learning the lessons of progress, wherever they may be found.
I recently talked to Cassie Chambers Armstrong, the author of “Hill Women,” which chronicles the generations of strong, resourceful Appalachian women who helped her on her way to three Ivy League degrees. She grew up in the poorest county in Appalachia – and the United States – and here is her view of the seemingly intractable poverty that affects the region: “The place has all the skills it needs to solve its own problems.”
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
The solution, she says, is already present in Appalachia’s ingenuity, its resilience, and its deep community connections. The way forward is in building on those strengths, which often seem hidden (to outsiders), not in treating it as a hopeless charity case that needs rescuing.
The same could be said of 2020, in a way. The seed of a better 2021 is the progress made in 2020, humbly and honestly probed to learn its best lessons. Whether we heed those lessons is up to us. But we can be sure of one thing: There will be more progress to learn from next year.