Pilot's Briefing: Higher Ed, Black History Month, Local Activism, Christian Nationalism, Bookstores, Frankenstein, Introvert Tips

What is Higher Education For? Activism is the Most Effective Locally. 6888th Battalion. Christian Nationalism's Anti-American Attack. Bookstores Have a Solid Place. Frankenstein's Real Ambition. How to End Conversations Gracefully

Summary Letter

2/14/2025

Dear Friends and Resistance Allies:

The Drone Pilot briefed me on his discovery of extraordinary articles by experts and public intellectuals.

Today, the Pilot informed me of some good news: local activism is highly effective and that bookstores are alive and well. Further, there is a laudable movement to get high school kids to think more deeply about why they want to attend college. However, the Pilot delivered sad news of the scourge of Christian nationalism that has ruined many a good soul.

In addition, the Pilot relayed messages regarding the famous 6888th Postal Battalion and the movie about those brave and competent women. He also shared some helpful advice he had found which he says helps him mitigate his natural fear of humans. Lastly, we had an interesting discussion of Mary Shelley's book on the limits of science and why we still need mystery in our lives.

I have included the details from the Pilot's Briefing below.

Respectfully yours,

James F. Stephens, JD

p.s. The Pilot conveys his thanks to Mrs. Goldstein for the banana bread.

Details of Briefing

What is Higher Education For?

This is a freighted question, and everybody has answers. Politicians have answers. Tech executives have answers. University presidents have answers. Many have published their thoughts in these pages. The assumption of all those opining is that this question should be resolved for students by the time they arrive on campus in September... But this arrangement is perfectly backwards: It is students who should decide what their education can do (it’s their education, after all). What’s more, these competing visions miss the point, for they focus on answers at the expense of the question. And it is questions—the asking, the slow, deliberate unraveling, the framing and historicizing and interrogating of questions—that are higher education’s highest calling (and their greatest defense). Posing powerful questions, resisting easy answers, and equipping students with the tools to come to their own conclusions is what higher education is for. This principle applies when students are thinking at school. But it applies just as much when they are thinking about school... What’s higher education for? Let students decide. But let’s not delegate this decision to them without the proper equipment. It is the responsibility of universities to equip students with as versatile a set of tools as possible to make this judgment.

Activism is the Most Effective Locally

...once you learn how your town is run, who is making decisions, and what issues typically get the most attention, you can get involved! You can email your representatives, review meeting agendas, show up at meetings, or even speak during public comment. These are your leaders. They’re there to represent you, so go ahead and make your voice heard!

Black History Month: The Groundbreaking 6888th Battalion

Hopefully, many of you have already seen the movie “The Six Triple Eight,” which is now streaming on Netflix after a short run in selected theaters. The film is based on the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II. It centers on their commanding officer, Charity Adams, played by actress Kerry Washington in the film... What was never shown in the movie was a hint of sexual harassment, assault, and rape which would make their experience different than any other group of women soldiers during WW2.

Christian Nationalism's Anti-American Attack on Freedom

I disagree when Christian Nationalists try to force me or anyone else to live by their religious edicts. They have no right to coerce anyone to practice a certain faith, adhere to laws derived from a certain faith, or bow the knee to a faith they do not believe. Telling them to keep their religion out of the public square is not Christian persecution; it is the very essence of the separation of church and state.

Bookstores Have a Solid Place in Society

There will always be a demand for physical bookstores because, on an elemental level, there will always be those who are inexorably attracted to paperbacks and book discussions over coffee in bookstores... As long as there are people who are passionate about books, there will be bookstores... I said before 2020 was the lowest point in terms of bookstore sales. But even then, the revenue was around $6.5 billion. Which, to me, is a lot. There was always a love for bookstores. I believe the pandemic merely reinforced and reminded us of that.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein's Real Ambition

So the creature is not a product of modern science, and yet we fancy Victor as a mad scientist in a laboratory filled with fumes and sparks from modern apparatus. How is it that this premodern mystical alchemist appears so contemporary today?... The answer is as easy as it is provocative: perhaps today’s “Frankenfoods” and “Frankenmaterials” are not the products of modern science, either, but a return to alchemical dreams of reason. Undisturbed by reality, they are “animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm.”... Indeed, Mary’s novel suggests not only that magic and alchemy preceded science but also that science can infuse and revive their prescientific ambitions... The dreams of materials science, of information and communication technology, of biomedical research, of synthetic biology seek to overcome or transgress the limits of the given world with an almost supernatural enthusiasm.

Advice for Introverts: How to End Conversations Gracefully

We’ve all been there. You’re talking to someone, and maybe the conversation was great! Or maybe you were just being polite for most of it...either way, it's losing steam, and you want to leave before the awkwardness reaches a point where you’re considering faking a phone call to yourself... Frustratingly, you just can’t find the right words to smoothly exit the conversation without embarrassing yourself. Or maybe the other person is still going strong, but your mind left the chat, like, five minutes ago. You don’t want to come across as rude or uninterested, though. So what do you do?... Ending a conversation can sometimes feel as daunting as starting one. Fortunately, there are ways to go about it that not only get the job done but also make the other person feel heard and valued.