12 Jurors Unanimously Find Trump Guilty & NCAA Finally to Pay Athletes Who Earn Them Billions
Smartphones Benefit Teens More Than Harm Them, Trump Claims Bigly Crowd but Photo Shows Otherwise, The Boston Tea Partygoers Would Hate Today's GOP, John Denver Sings “Poems, Prayers & Promises”
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Our need to love pets says a lot more about human needs than it does about animals.
Guilty: Trump becomes first former US president convicted of felony crimes: He adds felon to his list of nefarious accomplishments.
NCAA College Athlete Pay Settlement: It’s about time.
The Panic Over Smartphones Doesn’t Help Teens: The greatest educational tool in the history of humankind has the potential to elevate humanity—if we teach children how to use it.
Kareem’s Video Break: This is the kind of joy the Daily Quote is talking about.
Kareem’s Kvetching Korner: Trump claims 25,000 showed up to worship him but only 1,000 were there. Why our obsession with crowd size?
Kareem’s History Bites: The lessons that the Boston Tea Party can teach us today.
John Denver Sings “Poems, Prayers & Promises”: His voice is like a clear, cool, Colorado stream.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
Anatole France, French poet and novelist (1844-1924)
I’m not going to get all gushy about the joy of pets. It’s like trying to explain the bliss of parenthood to confirmed non-parents. Or, as The Lovin’ Spoonful said about the magic of music, “It's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll.” Pet owners already get it and those who have never had a pet won’t.
There exists in humanity a pervasive need to express love—even more than to receive love. It is almost as hard-wired into us as breathing. Expressing love to other humans is messy, frustrating, complicated, and sometimes painful. But if we think of that deep need as existing among us the way electricity exists in the atmosphere during a storm, then we can think of our pets as Ben Franklin’s kite and key, capturing that desire of all humans to share their love in a pure, unconditional, and non-judgmental way.
The love of our pets may be the purest expression of love because it doesn’t depend on reciprocation. It’s great when our dog jumps with joy when it sees us or our cat lies purring on our laps, but we still feel that same powerful emotion for the indifferent turtle or aloof lizard.
It’s the capacity to love animals that interests me because of what it reveals about humans. We are at our best when we have the opportunity to show our love. Yes, some very bad people were kind to animals, but their inability to translate that love for pets into love for humanity is their failure. It doesn’t have to be ours.