Books

Um … I don’t know about this article. The topic is “booksmaxxing,” which seems to be a kind of movement. As the piece says, “[It’s n]ot just fashionable—being a big reader is considered sexy.”

I tend to side with the article when it says, “it [is] an entirely performative exercise aimed at convincing the world you are intelligent and possess an attention span.”

But, maybe that’s not so bad. Even if the motives are shallow and absurd, people are at least talking about books.

The overall trend—noted by the article—is Americans are in fact reading less. If my observations in the classroom for almost fifteen years indicate anything, many (most) students don’t seem too interested in reading or learning for that matter.

The culture, taken in aggregate, is intellectually incurious. There doesn’t seem to be much interest in reading, in culture in general, in food even. Many cultures and ethnicities are proud of their various dishes and national cuisines. Americans seem content with Burger King and Chili’s. Why can I not buy a $5 bowl of noodles from a Vietnamese grandma? Why is that??

So, we cannot be surprised that Americans don’t care too much about reading; they don’t even care about eating.

In order to become better educated, reading is going to be an important tool. And being better educated makes one stronger and more alive. To remain uneducated is to be weak and half asleep. Being educated makes one more developed. One sees the world more clearly, more confidently.

When one is engaged in a course of study, there is a moment I hope everyone reading this gets to experience. You’re sitting with a book, and you lean back and say out loud, “Everyone is wrong.” I wouldn’t trade that event for anything in the world. It’s a moment when you have become stronger, more developed. Now, it doesn’t come easy. It will take years, but it is the best thing you will ever experience.

Oh, also, please do not make the assumption that college degrees = educated. They do not. One can rack up degrees and certificates plural, and remain uneducated. Becoming educated is on you.

Also, a population that is uneducated is in danger of itself. As I tell my students, it is very easy to convince a four-year-old there is a monster in the closet. Why? Because, from the four-year-old’s perspective, a monster being in the closet is plausible. The four-year-old does not know any better. This applies to very tall children. Uneducated adults can be convinced of anything. They don’t know any better.

Politics? The economy? Vietnam? The Middle East? Foreign policy? World War II? American history? Basic philosophy? Basic logic? Basic science? All these things remain a mystery when one is not educated.

We live in an age of information. There is information and data everywhere. Why are we still so badly uneducated? Why do so many Americans not know rudimentary politics or rudimentary economics?

And when you cannot make sense of the news or read a newspaper critically, you’re at risk of believing strange things. You judge what you hear by who is saying it—and how they are doing so.

Washington DC knows this; they hire top-flight marketing firms to deliver what they want the population to want. (Americans believe and do what they are told; it’s a very obedient culture.) And believe me, Washington knows very, very well what you actually want. The public-opinion polls are watched quite closely. They know the population judges by appearance and is not politically articulate. You are served immense helpings of bread and circuses.

Past generations and eras frequently look childlike and foolish. “How did they believe such nonsense? Why did they tolerate that?” But future generations will say the same things about us. It is tempting to view ourselves as sophisticated and enlightened. We are not. Don’t like who’s in the White House? We put him there. He is our fault. He is America.

So, if a shallow and niche movement that reduces reading to a pose is afoot—an aesthetic that enhances one’s online dating profile—it is I suppose harmless. And just might do a small bit of good.

The motives are superficial and frivolous, yes. But the movement can only move things in a positive direction, assuming it moves them at all.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/17/booksmaxxing-how-reading-became-sexy

Damn Kids

The Economist recently published an asinine op-ed piece, warning the danger socialist Gen Z places the wealthy in. The Economist issued a grave warning and called for resistance to this “brand of leftism.”

I quickly wrote a short response essay on the article. I then sent it to friend Michael and said, “Do what you want with it; we’ll both take author credit.”

So, Michael tripled the length and made my short piece a serious piece of analysis.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/17/those-damn-kids/

There is No Left

 

Twenty Points on LGBTQ

I have heard on many (many) occasions over the course of my life, folks say things like this about homosexuality: “They can do whatever they want, just keep it away from me.”

This is brainless.

As a hetero, White, cis-male, I have little business speaking on these matters. All I’m doing here is clarifying terms. Much of the mistreatment, hate, and ignorance of the LGBTQ community comes from people who fit into my demographic. This makes it my problem.

This is not about being PC. It’s about being C—and a better human being.

Twenty points:

1. Most of those “folks” mentioned above are Baby Boomers. Few of them will read this. They’re too busy knowing everything.

2. Being gay is not a choice.

3. Neither is eye color.

4. If you’re heterosexual, you did not choose to be attracted to the opposite sex.

5. Therefore, “they” are not doing “what they want.”

6. And do gay people really want YOU on the team anyway?

7. I have had gay friends, and have spent my fair share of time in gay bars. Number of people who tried to recruit me: zero.

8. Gender is a social construct. It is not related to sexual orientation.

9. People are assigned a “sex” at birth based on one’s anatomy.

10. What we consider ”masculine” or “boyish” is something humans made up. Likewise, for “feminine” and “girly.”

11. There is nothing inherently “male” about trucks. Or cars. Or mud. Or blue. Or pipes & cigars. Or guns. Or grilling.

12. Trans people commonly feel they do not fall anywhere in this polarity: male or female. Or they identify with the other gender. The former are called “non-binary” (or “gender neutral”), whereas the latter are simply “trans.” Some are “gender fluid” and float between the two

13. Again, this is not a lifestyle choice. This is part of how the person feels and how they view themselves. No one is going to “make you trans” any more than they’re going to “make you gay.”

14. “Queer” used to be a slur. Now it’s a badge of honor and a term indicating political defiance, e.g., “gender queer.” You do not have to use it. It’s probably better if you don’t. I don’t.

15. “Hetero-normative” is the cultural dominance of heterosexuality. Like, being straight is normal and being gay is something else, e.g., “homosexual sex.”

16. “Intersex” people are those born with a wide variety of differences in their reproductive anatomy. “Hermaphrodite” is an outmoded term.

17. Oh yeah, LGBTQ is an acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.” It often features a plus sign after it indicating the numerous orientations and gender identities out there.

18. Gallup reports 9 percent of Americans are LGBTQ.

19. The term “sexual preference” is stupid.

20. My pronouns are: break up/the/banks. I also use universal/health/care. And sometimes I use lower/income/inequality. I state this not to diminish the concept of identity; I just tire of academics and intellectuals fixating on the smaller problems instead of the larger ones. They prefer cosmetic alterations.

Comics:

 

Palestine

This blog piece is not based on research nor is it analytical. It was basically written as I typed.

Palestine was part of my life for many years. It is still on my mind, though I don’t write about it much these days, and I don’t travel there (or anywhere) anymore.

Palestine I miss you. I miss your food, the warmth of your people, the smell of your shops, enjoying a cigarette on a rooftop at night listening to your sounds.

I feel like I have failed you. I still watch and stay informed as to what you’re subjected to: the humiliation, the destruction, the death, the imprisonment and torture.

I. F. Stone once said that the Palestinians are the Jews of the Middle East. Spot on.

Many Americans don’t even know where you are. They are taught to love Israel and despise Arabs/Muslims. Americans have a long, rich history of doing what they’re told.

Sadly, this ignorance allows the “conflict” to grind on. If Americans actually knew you and saw what is happening—and what has been happening for decades—they would not stand for it.

Those who do know but have said nothing are not dissimilar to those Germans who said nothing while their government was carrying out atrocities.

No, I’m not comparing the two. (I guess I have to say that.)

But what do we call using hungry children as target practice? Sexually assaulting and torturing prisoners? Calculating caloric minimums and creating—by design—food insecurity for millions?

I love you. I have such good memories of being there. I’m always more comfortable in Arab countries. I do not care if I ever see Europe again; I will always return to the Middle East—and specifically Palestine.

You will always live in my heart, regardless of what the future holds.


Photo 1: Me in a private home in Gaza after a long day.

Photo 2: Me and journalist/friend Vikram on the Gaza-Egypt border joining foreign nationals to form a human wall while locals in Rafah repair a sewage pump. The people of Rafah would get shot at if they tried to do so without the human wall. We eventually got shot at, too. Consulates and embassies were called, and the shooting stopped. The Israeli press (Haaretz) covered this story.

Episode 21: Human Nature, etc.

Michael and I talk about the Mandolorian, human nature, Nazis, War & Peace, and the Doors.