1.14.2021

The 33 Project

Yesterday, I walked across the city, from the west village to tompkins square park. Prior to the pandemic, I did this daily. I’d walk from west to east every morning to an office space I was using for SUP. Walking yesterday felt…mostly good. People were out (every single person I saw wearing a mask) being active and living in New York. It’s different, of course. So many vacant spaces lining the streets, no real clusters of people or activity. One person shooting hoops where it used to be a full court 5x5 game. But, it felt nice to stroll past people moving, living, and just being outside. I felt grateful. Grateful that the silence is fading and the bustle returning.

On to this week’s recs:

1/ There’s been many great reads published since Jan. 6th and the attack on the Capitol. One that really stuck with me, though, is this piece from n+1.

I like Lost Lost Causes because it makes the interesting point that America is the land of lost causes. When it comes to progress in this country there isn’t simply a winner and a loser and then forward movement. Instead of accepting defeat, reconciling and moving forward, that “loss” lingers and festers and grows into a new beast eventually. This is most clear in America’s response to the Civil War.

Highly recommend reading and reflecting on how we progress in this country.