Month: November 2017

How to live an ethical life and change the world

https://www.theguardian.com/australian-ethical-invest-for-a-better-world/2017/sep/25/how-to-live-an-ethical-life-and-change-the-world

Paid for by:

https://www.australianethical.com.au/

“Ethics is about making the right choices for ourselves and the society we live in. With so many challenges facing us and the planet, what can we be doing better?”

I just had a look at this article. I must say that a lot that is pointed out in this article I find fascinating. I am going to copy here just a few sections in this article that I noticed in particular. But I think it is to be recommended to take the time and read the whole article and maybe look at some of the links also. Apparently there are among very successful people quite a few who want to do something good for the society we live in!

In the following copied section is talk about ‘Tribalism’ and how it stands in the way of an honest discussion.

I just read a few pages in Chapter Nineteen of Judy Nunn’s new novel “Sanctuary”.  It seems to me the discussion among people in this chapter shows how tribalism affects the thinking of people. Judy Nunn is very good in showing this in her writing.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/sanctuary-9780143783855

The following are a few copied sections about what we can do to change the world:

“To live a more ethical, sustainable life we need to avoid letting habits or impulses guide our actions. We need to engage in ethical reflection and conversation. We need to understand ourselves, and we need to talk to others.”

With so much ethical and factual complexity in the modern world, Dr Palmer stresses it is essential to challenge our assumptions and seek out different sources of information, as well as different perspectives on that information.

 “We need to have constructive conversations with people who know
things we don’t, and with people we disagree with.”

Working against this, however, is a tendency towards “tribalism”, which means we often fiercely defend shared opinions rather than investigating issues with an open mind and engaging in complex debate.

Climate change tribalism is one clear example, he says, with similar challenges facing the discussion of issues like refugees and migration, marriage equality, and inequality and discrimination more generally.

“There are different policy approaches we can take (on climate change). But that’s not the roadblock. Tribalism is standing in the way of an honest discussion of the urgent action needed, like a price on carbon to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

“People resist and embrace change to different degrees, but our capacity to change is part of our humanity, and change is going to be essential to meet the massive social and environmental challenges we face.”

 

 

Life and style Empty nest? Not a chance

Saskia Sarginson writes in The Guardian about “millennials”. She says if you Google “millennials” you will come across several negative articles citing their failings. I just read Saskia’s article where she points out that her children millennials, but far from the stereotypes society pokes fun at.

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/saskia-sarginson

My children are millennials, but are far from the stereotypes society pokes fun at

Her article with the above heading was published in The Guardian on 25th  November 2017. Saskia explains that a millennial is a young adult, aged 18-34, She says about the millennials the following:

“They are depicted as entitled, narcissistic and lazy, sponging off  their parents while procrastinating about what to do with their lives; their favourite occupation is documenting every detail of their days in a series of selfies; if they do indulge in a little light ‘adulting’, say microwaving their own supper, then this too will be recorded and posted.”

But Saskia says that her own children are not entitled, narcissistic or lazy but angry, for instance that they have no prospects for getting on the property ladder. Most of all they are angry about the state of the world, such as:

“Global warming, plastic floating in the oceans, fracking, the destruction of the rainforests, pollution, and the evils of factory farming.”

Saskia says that none of her children plan to procreate. Her son says this is the right decision because the world is “so fucked up”. It saddens Saskia, that her children have so little hope for the future.

To read the whole article please go to:

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/saskia-sarginson

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey Banned the Teaching of Evolution: The U.S. Could Be Next

https://www.alternet.org/turkey-banned-teaching-evolution-us-could-be-next

In both countries, religious extremists are expanding schools that privilege religion over science.
By Matthew James Seidel / AlterNet November 24, 2017, 9:00 AM GMT

At a time when hate crimes against Muslims are at an all-time high in the United States, it’s hard to believe religious extremists in the U.S. could have much in common with religious extremists in Turkey, where the population is over 90% Muslim. But they certainly share at least one thing in common: a desire to undermine the teaching of science in schools. They are even targeting the same subject, evolution, as part of their radical sectarian agenda. And if they succeed, both the United States and Turkey will face equally devastating economic consequences.

Despite sharing the same overall goal of eroding the educational system, extremists in each country have recently demonstrated a preference for different tactics. In Turkey, the approach has been quite blunt, as the government literally banned the teaching of evolution altogether. Why? Because, according to education minister Alpaslan Durmas, evolution is simply “too complicated for students.” Instead, students will be taught that humans were created roughly 10,000 years ago by God in accordance with the story of Adam and Eve. Durmas declined to explain how the mechanics of an unexplained deity creating the first man out of clay and a woman from his rib is simple.

The effort to discredit evolution is just one aspect of the battle over national identity engulfing Turkey, . . . .

My Grandfather was in the Sejm and later in the Senate

I googled my grandfather’s name and found the following:

https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Spickermann&prev=search

Josef Alexander Spickermann (born March 6, 1870 in Bloto, Lodz [1] (probably Zgniłe Błoto ), died March 22, 1947 in Leipzig ) was a German politician and deputy of the German minority in Poland in the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic .

Table of Contents [Verbergen]
1 life
1.1 Family and work
1.2 Political career
2 literature
3 individual proofs
Life Edit ]
Family and occupation [ edit | Edit ]
Spickermann graduated from the school in Łódź and already passed the master craftsman carpentry exam at the age of 19. He was also a real estate dealer in Łódź. At the time of the German occupation from 1939 to 1945 he was senior master of the carpentry guild Litzmannstadt, Reichsgau Wartheland . [1]

Spickermann was married and had nine children, three of whom died in infancy. Three sons and three daughters reached adulthood and they started all families. In 1945, the Spickermanns, who joined other relatives, escaped to Pouch at Bitterfeld . [4]

Political career [ edit | Edit ]
From January 1919 Spickermann was a city councilor in Lodz. In the same year Spickermann and Ludwig Wolff were elected as representatives of the German People’s Party (DVP) for the district Lodz- Land Lask – Brzeziny in the Polish Constituent National Assembly (1919-1922) . Spickermann initially remained until 1920 deputies, but was re-elected for 1922-1928 in the Sejm, now for the constituency Konin – Koło – Lentschütz . From 1928 to 1930 he was senator for the Łódź Voivodeship . On 22 November 1930 Spickermann again ran successfully for the Senate, but had to resign his mandate due to an “internal agreement” in the German People’s Association to August Utta . He then retired from politics. [1]

Literature [ edit | Edit ]
Bertold Bergmann: Josef Spickermann, life picture of a German parliamentarian , in: Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe: Jahrbuch Weichsel-Warthe 1960 , Munich 1960 [for this article so far not evaluated].
Ursula Brehmer: Responsibility as a task and life law, Josef Alexander Spickermann on the 50th anniversary of death in: Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe: Jahrbuch Weichsel-Warthe 1997 , Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 68-72.
Karl-Heinz Reschke: Josef Alexander Spickermann, On the 60th anniversary of the death of the Sejmabgeordneter and Senator in Poland , in: Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe: Jahrbuch Weichsel-Warthe 2007 , Wiesbaden 2007 [not yet evaluated for this article].
Individual proofs [ edit | Edit ]
↑ Hochspringen nach: a b c d Wilfried Gerke: Contributions to the History of the Germans in Poland during the Second World War 1939-1945. Herne 2008, p. 67.
Hochspringen ↑ Eduard Kneifel: The Protestant-Augsburgischen communities in Poland 1555-1939. Vierkirchen 1971, p. 318.
↑ Hochspringen nach: a b c d e f g Ursula Brehmer: Responsibility as a task and law of life. Josef Alexander Spickermann on the 50th anniversary of his death. In: Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe: Jahrbuch Weichsel-Warthe 1997 , Berlin / Bonn 1997, p. 68.
Hochspringen ↑ Ursula Brehmer: Responsibility as a task and law of life. Josef Alexander Spickermann on the 50th anniversary of his death. In: Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe: Jahrbuch Weichsel-Warthe 1997 , Berlin / Bonn 1997, p. 71.
Hochspringen ↑ Mads Ole Balling : From Reval to Bucharest – Statistical-Biographical Handbook of the Parliamentarians of German Minorities in Central and Southeastern Europe 1919-1945, Volume 1, 2nd Edition . Copenhagen 1991, ISBN 87-983829-3-4 , S. 182nd ( Limited preview on Google Book Search ).

. . .

A Cemetery in Leipzig

AuntyUta

Previously I mentioned that we went to Leipzig to look for my grandfather’s burial place. Today I want to publish some more pictures about our excursion to Leipzig.

We had come by train from Berlin arriving at the Main Station in Leipzig (Hauptbahnhof)

A tram took us to the Southern Cemetery (Südfriedhof). When we got of the tram we could see the Völkerschlachtdenkmal.

Crossing the road, we found ourselves right at what looked to us like the main entrance to the cemetery. There was a friendly lady in the building next to the entrance. She had the particulars of the graves at hand which were still under the care of the cemetery. People usually pay a fee which covers five years of care. If for any reason a renewal fee isn’t paid anymore, the grave site becomes a new plot for a new grave. My grandfather’s grave dated from February…

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