GOP Tries to Keep Abortion Rights Off the Ballot & The Divorce Rate for Couples Over 65 Has Tripled!
65,000 Pregnant Rape Victims Can't Get Abortions in Their State, Iowa Wants to Force Children to Sing National Anthem Daily, Lea Salonga Sings “Someone to Watch Over Me"
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: I solve the riddle of the sound of one hand clapping.
Nearly 65,000 US rape victims could not get an abortion in their state: This is what happens when the wicked and the self-righteous are the same.
Republican legislatures in some states are trying to keep abortion off the ballot: Why does the GOP fear democracy so much? They want to force children to pledge allegiance and sing the national anthem, but not let their parents vote.
'Gray divorce' rates have doubled. But it's a costly move, especially for women: Divorce rates for those over 65 have tripled. Why are Boomers giving up on marriage?
An Iowa bill would make students sing the national anthem every day: “O say can you see…?” Yeah, but I don’t like what I’m seeing.
Kareem’s Video Break: A baby gets a hearing aid and hears his mother’s voice for the first time. Be prepared to witness pure joy.
Lea Salonga Sings “Someone to Watch Over Me”: This Gershwin jazz classic has been recorded over 1,800 times. But this time is special.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
We know the sound of two hands clapping. But what is the sound of one hand clapping?
A Zen Kōan
I first read this quote in J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories when I was a teenager. Back then, I took it as more of an amusing curiosity than a serious philosophical question. I thought of it as mystical wordplay, like the riddle of the Sphinx. Over the next few years, I occasionally thought about it but without digging too deep. When I attended UCLA, I became a student of Bruce Lee, who was a dedicated reader of various philosophies, especially Eastern thought. He exposed me more seriously to the Zen Buddhist kōan, a short statement, anecdote, or question that is meant to stimulate enlightenment. The goal isn’t to think about the meaning as much as to have the kōan inspire a sudden insight. Like a defibrillator cranked up to maximum and jammed into your soul, shocking you into an enlightened consciousness.
Unfortunately for me, I’m a ponderer. I like to think about things for a long time, sometimes for years. This approach is the opposite of Zen Buddhism, but I find it brings me, if not enlightenment, immense pleasure. It’s a spiritual sudoku. And so, over the years I have returned to “We know the sound of two hands clapping. But what is the sound of one hand clapping?” in my decidedly Western Sherlock Holmesian riddle-solving approach.
The key for me is the first sentence, which sets us up to picture two hands clapping. The trap is that we then focus on the mechanics of the one hand clapping, flapping our fingers against our palm. Instead, we should think about why hands clap in the first place. Sometimes it’s to get someone’s attention, sometimes it’s a spontaneous expression of joy, sometimes to turn lamps on and off (mostly in sitcoms). But usually, it’s to express approval over someone else’s performance. So, the sound of two hands clapping isn’t just that of flesh slapping together, it’s the sound of humans expressing appreciation and encouragement to each other.
There’s a poem by Richard Wilbur called “The Juggler” in which the narrator describes a juggler who whips into a frenzy by adoring his audience with amazing feats of juggling. They are especially affected at the end when he juggles a chair, a broom, and a table because those are the symbols of the daily weight that each person in the audience carries. When he finishes, the audience applauds wildly because his performance has temporarily lifted that heavy burden from them. The poem ends with:
For him we batter our hands
Who has won for once over the world's weight.
The sound of two hands clapping is the sound of a person being elevated into a joyful state by art because they are reminded of their connection to all other people facing the same struggles. The sound of one hand clapping is the silence of suppressed joy and appreciation. It is the person who feels delight in another person but is unable to express that out of fear of embarrassment or some other repressed reason. The one hand is raised in desire to participate, now thwarted by a lack of courage. This reluctance to express one’s feelings to another human being is isolating—it is the deafening, unbearable sound of silence.
A few years ago, I had a mini-epiphany that I wanted to make a greater effort to tell people whose work has moved or delighted me how much I appreciate them, even if it makes me sound like a silly fan. Mostly, I’ve done this right here in my Substack newsletter when I recommend a show, movie, song, or book. Sometimes, I hear back from the artists and it brings me great joy that I clapped loudly with both hands for them.
My overthinking may not bring me enlightenment, but it has brought me the joy of a deeper connection with humanity.