This week I finished:

The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of our Ira, by Akhil Reed Amar: I have been studying the Constitution like never before. The path to it was realizing sustainability meant changing culture, which forced me to ask if it was possible, which pointed me to abolitionism, which pointed me to Lincoln and abolitionists, which led me to the Thirteenth Amendment, which led me to the Constitution.

Another path branched off to learning about Robert Carter III, which led went through learning the flaws of founders like Jefferson, Madison, Washington, and Franklin, which led to the Constitution.

Amar is a constitutional law professor like podcast guest Michael Herz. I first found Amar looking up James Madison. There are dozens, maybe hundreds of videos featuring him online. I’ve probably finished ten by now, plus many episodes of his podcast. He’s an originalist and liberal. I understand not many people fit that category, but I think he’s growing it.

He’s full of enthusiasm. He knows his stuff. He knows lots of people. He tackles interesting issues. This book just happens to be the one the library had first. I’ll read more.

This book addresses journalists’ and the media’s too-narrow focus on issues related to the Constitution. It’s mainly to them but also to “we the people,” since citizenship requires an educated, virtuous, active population. He looks at several issues that he wrote about in the moment as a sort-of journalist, considering how events evolved since. Some of the issues are dynasties in American government, Obamacare, the win the Supreme Court handed George W. Bush, the OJ Simpson case, and more.

It covers a lot. While it gets deeper into law than many would care to on some issues, it’s always accessible, informative, and relevant.

It will make you more interested in the Constitution and a more engaged citizen.

Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, directed by Harold Ramis from a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin: I’d been meaning to rewatch this movie since dating a woman who had never seen it. I don’t know how many times I’d seen it before. I don’t remember when I first saw it. I don’t think I saw it in the movies, but watching it again, I think I remember every scene.

It’s a wonderful movie that deserves the praise it got later in its life. I always thought it was Buddhist, but apparently Ramis intended no religious meaning.

I had never thought to ask what caused the day to repeat. Nothing in the movie suggests what makes it happen. It mentions gods but only in the context of Murray’s character talking about God.

It’s heartwarming. It’s less thought-provoking than I remembered since whatever causes the loop is unknown and arbitrary. I didn’t keep track, but at least three parts made me laugh out loud (stuffing the whole cake into his mouth, the explosion, and at least one other I forget). I’ll probably watch it again sometime.

Is Our Modern Civilization Helping or Hindering Flourishing? Answers with Dr. Christopher Ryan, on the FlourishFM podcast: Ryan’s book Sex at Dawn made a big impression on me. I heard about this book, but the New York Public Library doesn’t have it so for now I’m just consuming online podcasts and videos about him.

I’ve known since podcast guest Sebastian Junger‘s Tribe how much humans prefer egalitarian hunter-gatherer living when they’ve experienced both and can choose. Ryan covers more. I suspect I’ll copy quotes and ideas from this video or book for the end of my upcoming book to illustrate the brighter future available when we don’t pollute or deplete.

Arthur C. Brooks | Enduring Excellence Conversation, at the University of Chicago: I confess I didn’t know Brooks, his books, or his columns so I don’t know if the video below represents most of his work, the tip of the iceberg, or what, but it resonated with how I live and why a future without polluting and depleting can be so rewarding.

How to Progress Through Life from One Strength to Another, aka Finding the Path to True Fulfillment: Love, Strengths, and a Higher Purpose with Arthur Brooks on the FlourishFM podcast: What a coincidence to find a conversation with Brooks on the podcast that featured Ryan. How could I not follow up to watch Brooks’s episode too?

Retry later

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