Adiós blanco América cristiana

The United States is no longer a majority white, Christian country. At 45 percent of the population, white Christians are a shrinking demographic, and it’s obvious, hence the bitter backlash from many members of the group against the country’s increasing diversification.

“People fight like that when they are losing a sense of place, a sense of belonging, and a sense of the country that they understand and love. How do they reengage in public life when they can’t be the majority?” — Robert P. Jones, author of The End of White Christian America.

An Atlantic video.

Related:

“Trump can’t make America white again,” Eugene Robinson, Washington Post

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Health Care Super Users

Each year,  5 percent of the U.S. population is responsible for 50 percent of the nation’s medical spending. Animation by Yukai Du. Written by Yukai Du, Nicolas Pollock, and Andrew McGill for The Atlantic.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Motherhood

Before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993, she spent much of her legal career advocating for women’s rights. In this interview with Ryan Park she describes attending law school in the 1950s with a 14-month-old baby at home, and how some of her career success is due to her husband’s flexibility and the experience of being a mother. Video animated and directed by Jackie Lay.

More:

“What Ruth Bader Ginsburg Taught Me About Being a Stay-at-Home Dad,” Ryan Park, The Atlantic

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Removing Confederate Monuments

“I didn’t start the problems with race in this country, but I did force the people of New Orleans to confront them,” reflects Mayor Mitch Landrieu. 2017 Aspen Ideas Festival.

The monuments:

• Battle of Liberty Place Monument – erected 1891 to commemorate the Reconstruction era “Battle of Liberty Place“. Removed April 24, 2017.
• General Beauregard Equestrian Statue – erected in 1913. Removed May 17, 2017.
• Jefferson Davis Monument – erected in 1911. Removed May 11, 2017.
• Robert E. Lee monument and circle – erected in 1884. 60 ft. column with 12 ft. statue on an earthen mound. Removed May 19, 2017

More:

‘The Confederacy lost and we’re better for it’: New Orleans mayor,” USA Today

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Americans Think Hard Work Gets You Nowhere

“A new poll from the Strong, Prosperous and Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC), an initiative to bolster local economies, found that Americans are quite skeptical of the narrative connecting wealth with personal agency. SPARCC found that 74 percent of those surveyed believed that most poor people work hard, but aren’t able to work their way out of poverty due to the lack of economic opportunities. In the U.S., 19 percent of income inequality is attributed to predetermined circumstances such as a person’s race, gender, and parental income. The SPARCC report also points to past research showing that economic mobility and health outcomes are greatly affected by geography as evidence that individual hard work won’t ensure success because opportunities aren’t evenly distributed.”

–“Americans Are Pretty Skeptical That Hard Work Will Pay Off,” Bourree Lam, The Atlantic

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Top image derived from Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire, Alan Dundes and Carl R. Pagter (1975)

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America is Getting Inked

“Although tattoos have been around for millennia, they’re more popular now than ever. In 1960, there were approximately 500 professional tattoo artists operating in the United States. By 1995, that number had risen to over 10,000. Nearly 20 years later, demand continues to surge, and by the latest estimates, roughly 20 percent of Americans have a tattoo. What’s more, 40 percent of the people in that group are Millennials, which some academics argue isn’t a coincidence.”

— “The Identity Crisis Under the Ink,” Chris Weller, The Atlantic

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Photo by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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KFC Cancels Syria’s Order

“In 2006, Kentucky Fried Chicken opened Syria’s first American restaurant in Damascus. The franchise weathered more than two and a half years of war, but this month, it became one of the last foreign businesses in the country to close its doors.”

 — Adam Heffez, “What KFC’s Exit From Syria Says About the Country’s Horrifying Food Crisis,” The Atlantic

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Image (“Arabian Delights, after Ludwig Deutsch”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Spring Break

“Like Western democracy, Socratic philosophy, written histories, epic poetry, and every other foundational pillar of high culture, spring break began in ancient Greece.

Called ‘Anthestreria’ by the local teens, and their parents, it was a festival dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and whoopee and just about every excuse to party. For three days, people would dance, singers would perform, women would deck themselves with flowers, and Greek men would compete to see who could be the fastest to drain a cup of red wine.”

— “2,000 Years of Partying: The Brief History and Economics of Spring Break,” Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

No wonder Greek letter societies are so keen on Spring Break.

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Image (“Glad Day for Surfin,’ after William ‘Hodad’ Blake”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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