Strange New World

This week I finished the Strange New Worlds series for the second time. My all time favorite episode is Season 2, Episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody." In this episode, the characters encounter a subspace anomaly that makes them break out into song and dance; and of course the whole crew must come together for a grand finale before the episode can be complete. Being a fan of musicals, this made me laugh so hard it brought tears to my eyes.

I finished two books this week. The first was American Schism, by Seth David Radwell. In this book, Radwell explores how the enlightenment and its two primary splinters, together with a counter-enlightenment, has influenced the pendulum effect in public policy for the last 250 years. Enlightenment is based primarily on the reliance of science and rationality over the domination of religion. The concepts are founded in certain rights we all have just by being human with a social contract in which the responsibility of the public good is exchanged for the responsibility of citizenship. The Radical Enlightenment movement proclaims equity of opportunity for all, on which the Declaration of Independence was founded in 1776, while the Moderate Enlightenment camp felt that rule still belonged to a designated elite best served to make the best decisions for all, on which the Constitution in 1787 was based. True democracy requires adequate and equitable education for all. We can thank the Radical Enlightenment camp for The Bill of Rights and most of the Civil Rights amendments and gains in the subsequent years. Ultimately, Radwell reiterates that in order to heal our society, we must have a place for all voices at the table, and we must rely on rationality, reason, and I would add respect.

The other book I read was A Psalm of the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers, which features and androgynous tea monk, and a self-aware robot. This short novel explores the quest for purpose and meaning, and has an interesting twist at the end that I found quite therapeutic.

In Utah, the State Auditor's office was flooded with over 12,000 complaints after the new transgender targeted bathroom restrictions went into effect, and the schools have stopped the rollout of "bathroom training," since it is not clear exactly what they are to teach. Of the 12,000 complaints, most were bogus, and only 5 have been deemed worthy of investigation. The state auditor has stated that this is not a job they feel comfortable with. In response, the sponsor of the bill, Rep Kiera Birkeland exposed her TERF tendencies when she tweeted, "maybe the next auditor will do their job." TERF is short for Transgender Exclusionary Radical Feminist, which is a label that most will refuse. In short a TERF is someone that denies that transgender women are women, that transgender girls are girls; and instead believes that trans females are rapists that put women and girls at risk and invade women-only spaces. Representative Birkeland is certainly living up to that ideology.

What a strange new world we live in indeed.