U.S. Falls Out of Top 20 Happiest Countries for the First Time Ever & Candace Owens is Bad for Humanity
We've Been Treating Concussions Wrong, Dumbest Rule in Swimming, The "Road House" Remake Is Better, Worst Movie Trailer of the Year, Creedence Clearwater Revival Sings
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: A quick reality check on the process of aging.
U.S. Falls Out of Top 20 Happiest Countries for the First Time Ever: Happiness is less about reality and more about perception.
Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire Cuts Ties With Candace Owens: Owens does real damage to Blacks and women in her illogical rants.
Sports: How We Got Concussions So Wrong: Millions of Americans get concussions every year. Yet, our treatment protocol is wrong.
‘Dumbest rule in swimming’: NC State’s Owen Lloyd stripped of ACC title for celebrating with teammate: Rules serve the good of the sport. That’s not what happened here.
Kareem’s Video Break: This will both surprise and delight you. Be prepared to smile uncontrollably.
This Week in Kareem’s Petty Pop Culture Gripes: The trailer for Challengers is the worst of the year. I’ll watch any sports movie. This awful trailer makes me want to skip this one.
What I’m Watching: The remake of Road House is better than the original.
What I’m Reading: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is a clever, funny, and suspenseful mystery.
Creedence Clearwater Revival Sings “Fortunate Son”: One of the most energetic rock bands ever makes a powerful political statement.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
Old age is mostly waiting to grieve.
Anonymous
The past few years has been a relentless stream of days in which someone I care about dies and I grieve the loss. Worse, I’m at an age where I know I will have to face many more of those days. Death. Grieve. Repeat. I am no longer surprised when it happens, the inevitability has numbed me from shock. But not from the sadness. Not from the grief.
At the same time, I realize that each death is like a customer number being called at a bakery—each number brings us closer to our own digits being announced. Then—if you’ve lived your life right—others will grieve for you. Circle of life, blah blah blah.
I’m all for inspirational quotes that embrace the challenges of life with a positive can-do attitude. I do them almost every week. But to ignore the darker aspects of living is to trivialize them and leaves us ill-equipped to deal with them. In a way, the grieving process is a way of honoring your relationships and celebrating a life that is filled with people worth grieving over.
Each day I wake prepared to grieve again. I am not afraid of it anymore. Grief and I are friendly companions skipping stones across the infinite that spreads out before me like a calm lake with grandchildren frolicking on the shore.
U.S. Falls Out of Top 20 Happiest Countries for the First Time Ever (Time)
SUMMARY: For the first time in the World Happiness Report’s dozen-year history, the U.S. did not rank in the top 20 of the world’s happiest countries.
Out of the more than 140 nations surveyed, the U.S. landed in 23rd place, compared to 15th place in 2023. While the U.S. is still in the top 10 happiest countries for those 60 years old and above, its overall ranking fell due to a significant decline in the reported well-being of Americans under 30.
Finland ranked at the top of the list for the seventh year in a row. Lithuania is the happiest country in the world if you only look at those under the age of 30, while Denmark is the happiest country for people who are 60 and older.
…According to the report, people born before 1965 are, on average, happier than people born after 1980. Millennials report drops in their life satisfaction with every year they grow older, while boomers’ happiness increases the older they get.
Globally, people between the ages of 15 and 24 typically report greater life satisfaction than older adults. But the 2024 report finds that the gap is shrinking in Europe, and has reversed in North America. The data contrasts with reports of life satisfaction between 2006 and 2010, when the younger generation in North America were just as happy as older folks.
…Last May, the U.S. Surgeon General brought attention to the public health crisis of loneliness and isolation, calling it an epidemic. A previous report by the American Psychological Association found that Gen Z adults reported higher stress levels than older generations, with health and finances cited as top concerns.
MY TAKE: Happiness is the difference between what we think our lives should be and how we perceive them to be. Note that I didn’t say “how they really are” but “how we perceive them.” Dissatisfaction can be created by many social stimulants from pop culture to social media to peers. We watch TV sitcoms like Friends and long for those kinds of relationships and wonder what’s wrong with us that we don’t have them. Or we see others’ brag-posts about their “amazing” lives and think how eventless ours are. That’s why I wonder if the dropping level of happiness in the U.S. isn’t the result of not having what we think others have, when in reality they don’t have it either. We long for what doesn’t actually exist.
Happiness for the older generation is based on satisfaction in what their lives have been and a certain stability in how they see the rest of their lives playing out. If they have a family they love and a group of friends they socialize with, that’s pretty much all they need. They’re happy.
But happiness for the younger generation is based on hope for the future and that hope is dependent on their faith in the present. The younger generations have been destabilized. The COVID-19 pandemic shook their confidence in government to prevent it or to address it. Remember, President Trump deliberately lied to the public about how dire the situation was. Then we had politicians refusing to take action to mitigate its spread. They also see GOP politicians banning books, ignoring science, embracing guns, taking away women’s reproductive rights, and harassing the LGBTQ+ community. Is this a government they can trust to have their best interests at heart? Is this their future?
In reality, they have more material things and more opportunities than many generations had in the past. But it’s a mistake to berate them for not being happy about that. We have to come to grips with the fact that there is much going on in America right now that makes people feel isolated and marginalized. This dissatisfaction has led them to follow the worst kind of people on social media for life lessons that make their lives even worse in the long run. Misogynists like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate produce men incapable of meaningful, mature relationships. Embracing the irrational musings of Joe Rogan or Alex Jones means keeping the same restrictive politicians that make society worse.
We are stuck in the fifties when happiness was defined as everyone knowing their place and not rocking the boat by wanting more. The sixties liberated us from that nonsense by making demanding equality cool. Happiness was working with others to make everyone’s life better. It still can be.
Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire Cuts Ties With Candace Owens (The Daily Beast)
SUMMARY: The conservative media empire founded by Ben Shapiro has cut ties with Candace Owens, amid a lengthy public feud between the far-right pundit and Shapiro over the Israel-Hamas war.
“Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship,” the outlet’s co-founder Jeremy Boreing tweeted on Friday morning. “The rumors are true—I am finally free,” Owens posted to her own X account. Representatives for The Daily Wire and Owens did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
Owens joined The Daily Wire in 2021, hosting an eponymous, daily podcast prominently featuring her brand of vitriolic MAGA conservative commentary and conspiracy theories.
Shapiro had often come to the defense of Owens’ rhetoric, but following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the pair began a very public battle that at one point featured The Daily Wire’s co-founder daring the star podcaster to quit.
…Days later, their feud became even more personal. Owens posted to X a series of Bible verses suggesting “you cannot serve both God and money.” That pointed remark was viewed by many as a not-so-subtle use of the antisemitic “dual loyalty” trope against Shapiro, who responded: “Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit.” Owens hit back that Shapiro, currently editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, was “utterly out of line” and “acting unprofessional and emotionally unhinged for weeks now.”
…But Owens’ rhetoric about Jewish people appeared to reach a new low this week when she liked a social-media post asking conservative rabbi Shmuley Boteach whether he is “drunk on Christian blood again”—an overt reference to the antisemitic “blood libel” canard that has regained popularity on the far-right via QAnon. (Days earlier, Owens dabbled in other antisemitic tropes by suggesting there’s a Jewish “gang” in Hollywood.)
MY TAKE: Ordinarily, I wouldn’t care about a feud between two conservative grifters whose inability to rationally defend the opinions they sell while selling out borders on logical illiteracy. But because Owens is Black and famous, and therefore wields some influence over the Black community, I have to take a closer look at the damage she may be causing to Blacks, to America, and to reason itself.
Her antisemitic rantings are conclusive enough to dismiss her as being part of the Black Quacks that include Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, among others. Each has made a profitable career by pandering to White conservatives with a desperation that reeks of flop sweat.
As part of my research for this commentary, I watched Owens debate a liberal YouTube pundit who calls himself Destiny (which I’ve posted above for your amusement). The exchange is entertaining because Owens is continually insulting, demands not to be interrupted every time her facts are rightfully questioned, dodges direct questions by changing the subject, and gives misinformation that Destiny corrects her on. It’s actually embarrassing to watch her try to bluster her way out of the corners she keeps talking herself into. While Destiny supports his claims with facts, Owens reverts to anecdotes about her life or a story she heard about someone else. Her rants about how certain music is corrupting today’s youth (the same argument I heard about rock ‘n’ roll in my youth) because it’s part of a conspiracy to dumb-down kids would be pretty funny if she didn’t have influence over others.
Bottom line: Teachers, if you want to teach critical thinking in your classroom, just show the video and have the students make a list of every logical fallacy Owens indulges in. This would be a cautionary tale for them of how not to argue an opinion to anyone who is not already biased.
This Week in Sports
How We Got Concussions So Wrong (Slate)
SUMMARY: The first time Conor Gormally got a concussion, he felt as if he were standing on a ship at sea. A high school soccer player, he had decided to try out something new during his off-season: wrestling. His very first opponent caught him off guard, with a headbutt to the temple. “I stood up, then my horizon tilted to a 40-degree angle and I fell to the ground,” Gormally told me years later.
…There was a reason the “just rest” advice worked so poorly for him. For years, doctors had been told that concussion patients needed total rest in order to recover. But around the time of Gormally’s concussions, which occurred between 2013 and 2016, the science was beginning to indicate the opposite—patients who “cocooned” themselves in a dark room, even for only a few days, consistently took longer to get better than people who stayed engaged with their daily activities.
Since then, study after study has shown that the concussed brain requires active rehabilitation—activities like exercise, reading, and screens—to heal. The most up-to-date Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, a report prepared by an international panel of experts, recommends “active rehabilitation” and discourages total rest. As with most injuries, the specifics of what that rehabilitation looks like varies from case to case; researchers and specialists have an arsenal of protocols and therapies at their disposal.
You’d think that this would have meant a revolution in how doctors understand and treat concussions. It hasn’t. For many patients, not much has changed at all. A report published in 2018 found that more than half of patients with concussions—millions a year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—are still leaving the doctor’s office without actionable, evidence-based information or referrals to specialists. Instead of that crucial step, many patients, to their detriment, are still being told to simply cocoon.
MY TAKE: Most athletes in contact sports suffer concussions during their lives. It’s only in the past few years that medical science has revealed just how serious these injuries can be to our long-term health. While it’s disturbing that so many doctors are not caught up on the most recent discoveries in treatments, it’s not surprising. The history of medicine, like most other disciplines, is a long list of practitioners’ resistance to changing protocols.
Fortunately, we have at our disposal the greatest educational tool in the history of the world: the internet. I have made it my mission to research my symptoms, maladies, and even doctors’ diagnoses in order to better understand what’s going on in my body. Doing so allows me to ask the right questions and to better understand what they are telling me. I might ask about alternative treatments that I read had some success. Sometimes the doctor will agree that it’s worth trying. If not, I’ll get answers as to why not. Sometimes I read an article that better articulates what I’m feeling so I can communicate that to the doctor making it easier for them to treat me.
Medical science has become vast with so many changes happening quickly that it’s a good idea to become a partner with your doctor in maintaining your health. I’ve had exceptional doctors, but the more you know, the more confident you are in their treatment. The more informed patients become, the more doctors have to keep up with the current protocols. This is how we can directly influence medicine for ourselves and for everyone else.
‘Dumbest rule in swimming’: NC State’s Owen Lloyd stripped of ACC title for celebrating with teammate (The Athletic)
SUMMARY: Owen Lloyd had just completed the race of his life.
The NC State senior hit the wall first at the Greensboro Aquatic Center last weekend during the final of the 1,650-yard freestyle at the ACC Championship. Unsurprisingly, he was overcome with joy. Lloyd ripped off his goggles and cap and immediately turned to his right to celebrate with teammate Ross Dant, who was in the lane beside him and had finished in second place seconds later.
This was the culmination of Lloyd’s college career. His 14:37.04 time meant a conference title, an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships and a one-two finish with one of his closest friends.
Then it all came crashing down.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a disqualification in this event, 33 heat 4,” the PA announcer said to the crowd. “Lane 4 was disqualified for crossing into another competitor’s lane.”
Fans displayed their displeasure, with boos being heard throughout the aquatic center. Dant, who finished with a time of 14:39.34, was named the winner. Lloyd had been stripped of his title.
Upon hearing the ruling, Lloyd sat down and put his hands on his head. He then fell back in utter shock.
“I just started crying because I was so upset that all that hard work had been kind of taken away from me by such a strange situation,” Lloyd told The Athletic on Friday.
Dant, being interviewed by the ACC Network shortly after the race, called it “the dumbest rule in swimming.”
“Owen beat me fair and square. He should be on that podium. He was excited. That’s a huge moment for him, right?” Dant said on the broadcast. “He earned that. He earned that, and that’s his emotion.
MY TAKE: The NCAA rules state: “Any competitor who interferes with another swimmer during a race shall be disqualified from that race, subject to the discretion of the referee … A swimmer who changes lanes during a heat shall be disqualified.” But the rule could easily be modified to exempt certain situations that don’t affect the outcome of the competition. In fact, the judges could have ignored his minor breach because he didn’t violate the spirit of the rule.
Rules exist in service of the sport. They are there to make sure the competition is fair. These judges, however, seemed to think the sport exists in service to the rules. In the end, this was a disgrace to the sport and an insult to athletes.
It’s also worth watching the video above in which Ross Dant, the default winner, shows incredible sportsmanship by acknowledging his teammate’s win. That’s the real heart of sports.
Kareem’s Video Break
I’ve never seen anything like this. But watching this little guy’s joyful relationship with a crow makes me happy. Want to be happy, too? Watch.
Want to make America happier? Here’s how:
This Week in Kareem’s Petty Pop Culture Gripes
The Trailer for Challengers
As you might imagine, I am a huge fan of sports movies. Stories about the challenges of living such a competitive life while trying to balance relationships appeals to the former athlete in me. But based only on the trailers, this movie about professional tennis irks me.
I’ve seen this trailer and an alternate trailer every time I’ve gone to the movies the past couple months, and every time they both drive me nuts. Trailers are supposed to make you want to see a movie by promoting its best features while hiding its flaws. These trailers make you think the movie is nothing but flaws. It clearly wants to showcase what it thinks is a sexually edgy story, but the romantic triangle it shows is a cringy, melodramatic cliché. Everyone smirks and saunters around smugly with such entitlement and narcissism that there are no stakes for the viewer. Unless they think being attractive is stakes enough.
What I’m Watching: TV
Road House (Prime)
Are you ready for some cinematic blasphemy? This remake is better than the 1989 original Road House starring Patrick Swayze, which has become a cult classic. Jake Gyllenhaal replaces Swayze as the fighter with a badass reputation and a tragic past. I’m a fan of the original, but this version is better in every way. The first film relied a lot on macho swagger while this one has an entertaining mix of humor, heart, and action. The fight scenes are more brutal and fun. The dialogue is snappier, the sets are better, and Jessica Williams is a delight as the sarcastic, tough bar owner. The romance is just as stiff and formulaic as it was in the original—that’s the one thing action movies often get wrong—but the movie is still a lot of fun.
What I’m Reading: Fiction
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
This is one of the most original mystery novels I’ve read in a long time. Set in an Australia mountain ski lodge, the novel gathers together a fractured family, whose dead patriarch was a career criminal, to celebrate his son being released from prison. The narrator is Ernest, the younger son who helped put his brother away. Ernest also writes self-published manuals on how to write mystery novels, so throughout his narration he informs us of the rules of fair play in mysteries and makes a point of abiding by those rules. It’s clever, funny, and suspenseful. I identified the murderer the moment they were introduced, but that’s from many years of reading and writing mysteries. Let me know if you also guess it right.
Kareem’s Jukebox Playlist
Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Fortunate Son” (1969)
Creedence Clearwater Revival formed as the Blue Velvets in 1959 and becoming CCR in 1967. Between 1969 and 1971, they produced 14 consecutive Top 10 singles. They also performed at Woodstock. Sadly, in-fighting and lawsuits broke up the band in 1972. Their greatest hits album is still on the Billboard 200 album chart, where it has been for more than 700 weeks.
There are so many wonderful and energetic CCR songs, but I selected “Fortunate Son” because of its powerful antiwar sentiments about how during the Vietnam War draft, the rich often were given deferments paid for by wealthy parents (such as Trump’s bone spur in his foot excuse written by a doctor who rented space from Trump’s father). The opening lyrics say it all:
Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Hoo, they're red, white and blue
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief"
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, LordIt ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no
The song was played at antiwar rallies, but the sentiment about the perks of privilege hasn’t really changed. Like Billie Holiday sings in “God Bless the Child”:
Them that’s got shall get
Them that’s not shall lose
Songs like these remind us that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Recently I heard, “When old people die, it’s like a library closing, due to the history they know.” None of us know why some of us live longer than others, but at some point, with longevity, it does-kind of-become a waiting game. A childhood friend of mine, always called to deliver the dire news of the loss of another hometown person. I teased him once, as being the bearer of death news. He declared, “One day, somebody is going to call to tell you about me.” Ten years ago, I got that call. So, Kareem, I don’t awake, preparing to grieve-I’m just happy I awoke, at all.
Owen Lloyd getting penalized for exuberance just stupid and wrong. Guess it’s back to playing my platters backwards so I can hear the devil’s music. The only people going backwards are Christian Nationalists.