The arc of justice

I always thought that this was a quote from Abraham Lincoln, but Jon Meacham, in his book And There Was Light–Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, attributes it to Theodore Parker. I hope we are bending toward justice. “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe: the arc is a long one, my eye […]

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Let there be light

“I do not despair this country….The fiat of the Almighty—“let there be light”—has not yet spent its force,” Frederick Douglas once said. I found this quote in Jon Meacham’s book And There Was Light—Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Lincoln’s story has meaning for us today. –Joy

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Good role models

Qian Julie Wang decided that she would become a lawyer. An avid reader, Wang explains, “I had come upon and gulped down condensed biographies of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Thurgood Marshall. Ruth and Thurgood showed me that lawyers didn’t have to be men, and they didn’t have to be white.” Wang, author of Beautiful Country, […]

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Solid ground

Qian Julie Wang, author of Beautiful Country, came to the United States in 1994 when she was seven years old. She often went to school hungry and was put in special education classes because she didn’t speak English. Eventually, she graduated from Yale Law School. Her mother was a professor who taught math and computer […]

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Beauty and dignity

Qian Julie Wang, author of Beautiful Country, reports that her mother told her “that a woman could be beautiful without being pretty, but that a woman could not be beautiful without having dignity.”

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Be still

Rushing. I think I have lots to do. Maybe a bit overwhelmed. “I’ve been thinking,” says Emily St. John Mandel in her book Sea of Tranquility, “a great deal about time and motion lately, about being a still point in the ceaseless rush.” –Joy

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A woman without a man

“A woman without a husband is not a problem to be solved,” writes Jane Austen in her book Persuasion. Jane Austen is a wise woman. I am reading Persuasion again. –Joy

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Reasonable?

Jane Austen writes: “How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!” Jane Austen is a wise woman.  I am going to read Persuasion again. –Joy

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Wise and reasonable

Jane Austin writes: “She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.” I am going to be wise and reasonable—and read Persuasion again! –Joy

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Good company

I am watched the movie Persuasion—based on the book by Jane Austen, of course. The movie was delightful, and I am going to read the book again. Jane Austen writes: “My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.” […]

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