I saw Maura O’Connell open for John Prine at a concert in Springfield two and a half years ago. No idea who she was but was completely blown away. Someone who sounds that good live must be magical.
Blue Train – Maura O’Connell with Nanci Griffith and James Grant
Any interesting, balanced look at the lack of basic conservative study in most university political science programs.
Says Berkowitz, “Without an introduction to the conservative tradition in America and the conservative dimensions of modern political philosophy, political science students are condemned to a substantially incomplete and seriously unbalanced knowledge of their subject. Courses on this tradition should be mandatory for students of politics; today they are not even an option at most American universities.”
He continues, “Incorporating courses on conservatism in the curriculum may, as students graduate, disperse, and pursue their lives, yield the political benefit of an increase in mutual understanding between left and right. In this way, reforming the curriculum could diminish the polarization that afflicts our political and intellectual classes. But that benefit is admittedly distant and speculative.”
I’d speculate that the further away one gets from university years, most of us who wandered through a university undergraduate education in the political sciences begin to finally realize what it actually lacked.
They just use your mind and never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it
This morning I officially set out on a mini-course in something most my age have long ago experienced…9 to 5 work. I am a public policy fellow in the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office, which means that for the next three months my work days will fit neatly into boxes (kinda). There are five boxes a week. Each box is 8 hours long. Amazingly, I have rarely been put in this box. Thinking back, since turning 18, I have been either an undergradate or gradute student for every school semester except one. My class schedule has never come close to 9 to 5, and my work during the semester was quite flexible. The one exception involved one-of-a-kind work in our state capitol with hours that resembled nothing of set schedule office work. My summer work the last two go-rounds involved partially creating my own hours and partially working via computer from any location of my choice. Only the first two summers after graduating high school did I have set 5 days a week hours, and they were far and away my least favorite summer endeavors. Then again, those two summers invovled installing random computer software over and over on an endless line of iMacs. The hourly schedule was likely least of the problem.
Yet, the entire point of this post was to admit my feeling of apprehension as this summer fellowship begins. I am continually worried by the reports I hear back from friends and family who despise their job. And those who do not despise their job rarely actual like their job. And I couldn’t name anyone I know who loves their job. This terrifies me.
The fear has igniting a quest to discover the secrets of work happiness before I begin making more important choices that will affect my own long-term work experiences…beyond this summer. I am lucky. I have no money, but I also have little weight (or, quite frankly, much responsibility) holding me to a job or location that may create misery.
The way I figure, the next year or two will likely offer more complete and utter freedom in all aspects than at any time in my life. So perhaps my goal is to position myself such that the next fifty years of my life maintain the beneficial parts of my current life.
I would greatly appreciated all of you working folks thoughts on your work-happiness in general. And I certainly plan on discussing the topic much more as I learn and process.
Most news media have finally begun to cover the amazing events that are unfoldeding in Iran the past pair of days.
If you happen to read this and have not gotten a glimpse of the Iranian citizens’ reaction to the sham of an election forced upon them by their obscenely dangerous and crooked leadership, check out The Daily Dish and the NYT Blog to be brought to speed.
My engagement with most international affairs is insufficient to give any helpful personal analysis. But I can damn well point to other people who can actual provide thoughtful insight. Check them out.
This story may turn out to be one of the most significant in the world in quite some time. Keep an ear out.
An commerical to prevent forest fires. But mostly it just makes you feel a little confused…
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