Today, Boston Review shared a talk delivered by the philosopher Martha Nussbaum in 2008 when she became a bat mitzvah. The full talk, titled “The Mourner’s Hope: Grief and the foundations of justice” can be found here Nussbaums talk very much resonated with me, particularly given some of the questions I had raised yesterday. We appear, then, to be moving in two very different worlds: the inner world of the longing heart, of suffering that needs the consolation of an... Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Conversation Questions for Chapter Five: In 2008 the United Nations declared rape “a weapon of war.” A former UN forces commander states, “It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict.” Can we do anything about this? What are... Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Conversation Questions for Chapter Four: “In many poor countries, the problem is not so much individual thugs but an entire culture of sexual predation.” Discuss the successful efforts of Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association and Equality Now in working to change the laws and the culture. Two of... Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The above video is about the New Abolitionist Movement student group at the University of Dayton. Conversation Questions for Chapter Three: The reign of terror in Kasturba Nagar by Akku Yadav is almost unbearable to read. It is hard to imagine this type of abuse of an... Read more
Why do bad things happen to good innocent people? Again, I consider this question today in the aftermath of the bombings in Boston. As I did in the aftermath of Aurora, Newtown, Columbine, Mumbai, and 9/11. I still do not have an answer to this question. I have yet to hear an answer that satisfies me. Many attempts to answer this question are more maddening than no answer at all. I do not think anyone really knows. Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Conversation Questions for Chapter Two: The authors discuss the evolution of their thoughts regarding how best to deal with forced prostitution and child prostitution……..legalize and regulate vs. prohibition. Before reading this book, what were your thoughts on preventing/reducing prostitution in the U.S. and abroad? What are your... Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Conversation Questions for Chapter One: The authors list the reasons for the rise of sex slavery as the fall of communism, globalization, and AIDS. Were you aware that sexual slavery exists today? Would you add anything to this list? Were you surprised by any of these reasons?... Read more
This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The above video is from the organization The Girl Effect. Conversation Questions for the Introduction: Had you ever heard of The Girl Effect before reading the Introduction? “Less than 1% of U.S. foreign aid is specifically targeted to women and girls.” In light of the statistics chronicling... Read more
George Harrison and Eric Claption perform the Beatles classic Taxman: I was going to write a post about viewing ourselves as citizens rather than taxpayers. Since that will have to wait, I hope the above song and video will bring you joy on this Tax Day. 🙂 Read more
Welcome to the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we will be discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Half The Sky focuses us on how helping women around the world can have a striking impact on human well-being. The video above is from a documentary inspired by the book and will give you a taste for what we will be discussing this week (we will have other... Read more
Approaching Justice
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