By Lê Vĩnh Tài, translated by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

you write 

in the creation of a world on fire

hence the further hardship in poetry

more glory in the palm of your hand

the words swell upon your command

.

you write encryption on the rocks

often rather complicated

the vows

of a nation

.

you polished

the written words

with your agonizing sweat

.

write with all that is within your grasp 

so much so the hairs on your skin would curl up 

along with the thoughts in your head

.

write 

the impossible

drill a hole through this 

Godforsaken life…

….

the light dawned on your face

on your pages of poetry

it attacks your loneliness

like a dagger

.

in a flash, rips apart the darkness

the passion reserves for all

the light made you blushed

.

you don’t like it

the damp wet spit

of…

     The skill of understanding definitions in detail, and applying them logically, is another crucial part of Adult citizenship responsibility which is taught very well by mathematics (too bad Proofs were no longer a standard part of geometry classes after my middle school classes back in the early 1980s)  and is thus a key part of any democracy.  

    Understanding similarity, evidence, and how to draw logical conclusions from primary or proofed secondary sources is also a crucial part of being an Adult in a democratic society. 

Mathematics helps with that.

 Middle of week 8/18

Action Prompts:

1.) The devil is in the details, don’t  you think?   Share your  thoughts with us on how can Proofs help teach logic.

2.)  Write a book, story, blog post or…

Late last night, I was trying to clean up my inbox before heading up to bed when I came across Robert Reich’s latest newsletter.  I found it both thoughtful and thought-provoking, so I am sharing it with you today.

Is there still a common good?

Yes. And I’ll tell you where to find it, and how to preserve it

By Robert Reich

We’ve gone through the shameful first anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol and of the refusal of 147 members of Congress (all Republicans) to certify all the electors from states that voted for Biden, on the basis of no evidence of fraud. So far, no political figure has been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. We’ve seen 34 voter-suppression bills enacted by 19 Republican state legislatures; at least 8 give state legislatures the power to disregard election outcomes. More than 400 additional voter suppression measures are now…