Reading Day

You Have Choices I Never Had

Alright, the link above is choice number one. It's an article by Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, discussing the difficulties today's parents face in choosing for their children. Even if you're not a parent, the article is a telling look at how the explosion of choices in the marketplace impacts our happiness with the things we end up choosing. It's also a good preview of the book.

Related, in that it talks about making choices for children too, is this article, Why the Atheists are Right About the Pledge, in which believer Melinda Henneberger considers the difficulties non-believers face in today's America by talking about it with her friends, a lapsed Catholic and a non-believing Jew, who are trying to raise their children with a religious background for the comfort it brings. Henneberger begins to see that Michael Newdow was, like it or not, right when he argued before the Supreme Court that we should remove the words "under God" from the pledge. May she be the first of many believers to realize this...

Finally, Friday should be Bill Maher day, but his show is on hiatus until summer. So, here's his current take on the campaign. He stretches my criticism of Bush's campaign tactics regarding Kerry's medals to a new level by calling the media on it: why are they cpvering this as if it's a real story? Wouldn't a good media include evaluation of the statements made by both candidates in its stories? If they're wrong on the facts, the media should be willing to say so, and to stand up for those facts. Isn't that supposed to be the role of the media in our country? If they're just passing on the most controversial or outrageous things the candidates, they're missing the point: give people context, give people honest evaluation, give people information. An election isn't a he-said, he-said story. There are facts being discussed, and the media should help people understand those facts rather than focusing so much on the bickering.

Hope you enjoy today's readings!