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In today’s edition:
WpGet the full experience.Choose your planArrowRight- What a civil rights biopic teaches about friendship
- China fans the flames of antisemitism
- Caricaturing the 2020 election rejecters
Five words of advice for 2024
The best kind of commentary is sometimes hard to even describe. Hey, want to read a New Year’s reflection on a significant film of 2023 that also tells you something about an iconic American activist, tensions within the civil rights movement, the importance of reconnecting with loved ones, and our electoral prospects in 2024 — and that weirdly also made tears come to my eyes?
Well, here you go. Columnist Michele Norris writes about the film “Rustin” and a refrain ringing in her ears — and now in mine as well — as the year begins: “Go get your friend back.” I’ll let her fill you in on the context, and how this line figures into this biopic about Bayard Rustin, but here’s the crux of it: “We have all lost friends, co-workers, fellow congregants and family members because of our current fault lines and divisions. … We have — as my father would say — ‘stomped on someone’s corns,’ and the distance created by those acts and anthems seems unbridgeable. And maybe it is. But does it have to be?”
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Anyway, just read it. And join me in hoping (and, perhaps, helping to ensure) that this year brings not just strife but also reunion.
Today in things I hadn’t even thought to worry about
Jewish Americans and Chinese Americans can at times seem like tribes separated at birth, heeding the higher callings of food, family, doing your homework and celebrating Christmas as a day to eat dumplings. But things are a lot less friendly between Israel and China — and, as Josh Rogin reports in a disturbing column, China appears to be escalating its support for the Palestinian side in the Israel-Gaza conflict into full-blown, state-amplified antisemitism.
“Via its internet censorship regime and state-controlled media, Chinese authorities have been fueling the flames of anti-Jewish hate online,” Josh writes.
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That manipulation is not good for Chinese citizens themselves, of course, but as Josh points out, it has much bigger implications, too: “Hateful content from China doesn’t stay in China. The Chinese government’s state media and propaganda reach is worldwide, and sowing distrust in Western democracy is a core pillar of China’s international diplomacy.”
In this great little video by our own Shih-Wei Chou, cartoonist Steve Brodner takes us behind the scenes of his epic Jan. 6 anniversary project depicting all 117 of the members of Congress who objected to counting Biden’s electoral votes and who now are running for office again (or haven’t said they aren’t, anyway). Why is Matt Gaetz’s mouth so gigantic? For important editorial commentary reasons!
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Definitely check out the full presentation of the graphic, as well. It’s worth exploring as one image and also for the intricate work that went into the myriad caricatures.
Smartest, fastest
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shares some hot tips for policy advances after your country survives an insurrection attempt.
- Kansas City writer Mary Sauer has an exciting prescription for the health of your kids: Go play in traffic! Just kidding: Go play in “play streets,” or streets barred to automobile traffic, which are amazing tools for neighborhood-building and childhood development.
- Read journalist David Ropeik on why people’s fear of cancer is overblown, given the advances that now save many lives and the toll taken by unnecessary screenings, false positives and overtreatment. Then read the comments section for a scorching rebuttal by people with cancer, survivors and mourners — many of whom think our fear is entirely appropriate.
It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s … The Bye-Ku.
Go get your friend back
Take them to the voting booth
Now you have earned brunch
***
Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me, along with any questions/comments/complaints/compliments. We’ll see you tomorrow!
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You’re reading the Today’s Opinions newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox.
In today’s edition:
The best kind of commentary is sometimes hard to even describe. Hey, want to read a New Year’s reflection on a significant film of 2023 that also tells you something about an iconic American activist, tensions within the civil rights movement, the importance of reconnecting with loved ones, and our electoral prospects in 2024 — and that weirdly also made tears come to my eyes?
Well, here you go. Columnist Michele Norris writes about the film “Rustin” and a refrain ringing in her ears — and now in mine as well — as the year begins: “Go get your friend back.” I’ll let her fill you in on the context, and how this line figures into this biopic about Bayard Rustin, but here’s the crux of it: “We have all lost friends, co-workers, fellow congregants and family members because of our current fault lines and divisions. … We have — as my father would say — ‘stomped on someone’s corns,’ and the distance created by those acts and anthems seems unbridgeable. And maybe it is. But does it have to be?”
Anyway, just read it. And join me in hoping (and, perhaps, helping to ensure) that this year brings not just strife but also reunion.
Jewish Americans and Chinese Americans can at times seem like tribes separated at birth, heeding the higher callings of food, family, doing your homework and celebrating Christmas as a day to eat dumplings. But things are a lot less friendly between Israel and China — and, as Josh Rogin reports in a disturbing column, China appears to be escalating its support for the Palestinian side in the Israel-Gaza conflict into full-blown, state-amplified antisemitism.
“Via its internet censorship regime and state-controlled media, Chinese authorities have been fueling the flames of anti-Jewish hate online,” Josh writes.
That manipulation is not good for Chinese citizens themselves, of course, but as Josh points out, it has much bigger implications, too: “Hateful content from China doesn’t stay in China. The Chinese government’s state media and propaganda reach is worldwide, and sowing distrust in Western democracy is a core pillar of China’s international diplomacy.”
In this great little video by our own Shih-Wei Chou, cartoonist Steve Brodner takes us behind the scenes of his epic Jan. 6 anniversary project depicting all 117 of the members of Congress who objected to counting Biden’s electoral votes and who now are running for office again (or haven’t said they aren’t, anyway). Why is Matt Gaetz’s mouth so gigantic? For important editorial commentary reasons!
Definitely check out the full presentation of the graphic, as well. It’s worth exploring as one image and also for the intricate work that went into the myriad caricatures.
It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s … The Bye-Ku.
Go get your friend back
Take them to the voting booth
Now you have earned brunch
***
Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me, along with any questions/comments/complaints/compliments. We’ll see you tomorrow!
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