Reflecting on our duty to the stranger and the "other," an invitation to discuss the future of the humanities, announcing the next book giveaway + more!
Yes, you are correct about Xenia. I found this concept very active in Turkey. There the family unit is the most important and receiving guests and treating them to hospitality is something I have never experience before except maybe as a child with my great-grandfather's family, who were 2nd generation Americans from Poland. We lack Xenia as a whole but not completely. Usually I see it most in foreigners who have immigrated here or visiting. It seems our own country has lost this, but in general, it is due to trust being lost. That is why I am for the Classics. I do not know why Classics has started to be under attack, but I would like to pursue this question and know where it started. Also, who started it, and why they removed it from our schools. Race needs to be removed from these discussions completely. You can learn from any literature how to be a good person no matter who wrote it. I do not care if an African American, Asian, or foreigner, like Homer, wrote a story. If it is good and teaches us life's lessons then I benefit. Remember, all Classical literature is foreign (to us anyway). I do not agree with people who attack the Classics or say there are not enough people of color in it. I talked to an Australian recently and he can't understand why in America this is so prevalent. People of color have chosen not to study it. That is their choice not ours. They pursue what they like. Of course we should always entice them to study it because it can make them better people. Reading the Bhagavad Gita can also make you better, for instance, "doing something not for the sake of receiving something back", is key to this text. But I am not Indian. Does this mean I cannot benefit from a sacred text. People believe in the bible and yet it is completely foreign. People need to wake up. We need Classics again, but with the lessons from the past ever more present. I love diversity. I love my own people. I love that we can all live together and be kind, but I detest when diversity is exploited or used to gain power or crush others. Too many have used it as an excuse to gain and exploit. We are ALL equal, we should ALL receive education, and we should ALL benefit from the Classics. Period.
Thank you for your all encompassing perspective, Paul!
I, too, agree that we all share one humanity, regardless of our place of birth, color of our skin, social or economic station in life. We should seek the spark of God in each person we encounter.
As a society I fear that our priorities have long been misplaced. Wealth comes in more than one form; People before Things! It is those things on which we can put no price-tag which are more valuable than all the material riches of the world.
Some of us have been blessed to have people in our lives who taught and/or role modeled for us. To honor them we should share our blessing with others through acts of kindness and good-will.
I am always so thankful to find those whose heart and mind seek for the invaluable treasures in each person❣️
"Displays of rhetoric and linguistic force are a good way to seem important and invite a particular kind of admiration, but they tend to silence dissent and discourse deeper modes of engagement."
Absolutely Beautiful ❣️ Thank you for sharing this, Alexandra. One for my "Special Quotes" Journal ✍🏻
Yes, you are correct about Xenia. I found this concept very active in Turkey. There the family unit is the most important and receiving guests and treating them to hospitality is something I have never experience before except maybe as a child with my great-grandfather's family, who were 2nd generation Americans from Poland. We lack Xenia as a whole but not completely. Usually I see it most in foreigners who have immigrated here or visiting. It seems our own country has lost this, but in general, it is due to trust being lost. That is why I am for the Classics. I do not know why Classics has started to be under attack, but I would like to pursue this question and know where it started. Also, who started it, and why they removed it from our schools. Race needs to be removed from these discussions completely. You can learn from any literature how to be a good person no matter who wrote it. I do not care if an African American, Asian, or foreigner, like Homer, wrote a story. If it is good and teaches us life's lessons then I benefit. Remember, all Classical literature is foreign (to us anyway). I do not agree with people who attack the Classics or say there are not enough people of color in it. I talked to an Australian recently and he can't understand why in America this is so prevalent. People of color have chosen not to study it. That is their choice not ours. They pursue what they like. Of course we should always entice them to study it because it can make them better people. Reading the Bhagavad Gita can also make you better, for instance, "doing something not for the sake of receiving something back", is key to this text. But I am not Indian. Does this mean I cannot benefit from a sacred text. People believe in the bible and yet it is completely foreign. People need to wake up. We need Classics again, but with the lessons from the past ever more present. I love diversity. I love my own people. I love that we can all live together and be kind, but I detest when diversity is exploited or used to gain power or crush others. Too many have used it as an excuse to gain and exploit. We are ALL equal, we should ALL receive education, and we should ALL benefit from the Classics. Period.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! So appreciate it.
Thank you for your all encompassing perspective, Paul!
I, too, agree that we all share one humanity, regardless of our place of birth, color of our skin, social or economic station in life. We should seek the spark of God in each person we encounter.
As a society I fear that our priorities have long been misplaced. Wealth comes in more than one form; People before Things! It is those things on which we can put no price-tag which are more valuable than all the material riches of the world.
Some of us have been blessed to have people in our lives who taught and/or role modeled for us. To honor them we should share our blessing with others through acts of kindness and good-will.
I am always so thankful to find those whose heart and mind seek for the invaluable treasures in each person❣️
"Displays of rhetoric and linguistic force are a good way to seem important and invite a particular kind of admiration, but they tend to silence dissent and discourse deeper modes of engagement."
Absolutely Beautiful ❣️ Thank you for sharing this, Alexandra. One for my "Special Quotes" Journal ✍🏻