From early in life we are warned not to talk to strangers and “stranger danger” may be drilled into our consciousness. And in today’s political climate it may seem a realistic warning with hate crimes and xenophobia on the rise.
But sometimes you need to approach a stranger, and sometimes you may simply want to. Have you done so with either positive or negative consequences?
October is National Library Month, a time to celebrate libraries!
What influence have public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, or specialized libraries had on your life?
How do you think the need for - and the mission of - libraries is changing in the digital age? What do you think the most important challenges are for libraries today and why?
In 1935 the Roosevelt administration and Congress established that “… employees shall have the right to engage in strikes and other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining…”
In 1980 the Reagan administration defied federal law by forcing striking air-traffic controllers back to work. Since then strikes and the unions that organize them have been under fire. After 40 years of labor-relations drought, the unions are coming on strong.
Have you ever walked a labor union picket line? Have you ever crossed a picket line? What has your strike experience been like?
Have you or anyone you know ever been in jail, perhaps for a political protest or even a traffic violation. Perhaps someone has done prison time for a longer stint? If so, what was the crime?
Or have you worked with the incarcerated as a lawyer or in law enforcement, or as a teacher, or a health professional, or as an advocate for prisoners’ rights or reform of the penal system?
Floods are one of the most destructive examples of Nature’s power - or of human failure.
Rains, sub-sea earthquakes, and breached dams have brought destruction and death to those in their wake. Far smaller floods seldom make the news, but also bring personal loss and tragedy to many every year.