Articles on PR for People

Could ethnic minorities save the Senate for the Democrats?

Two different approaches to shaping America's future: The Republican Party, through Donald Trump and their primary system, has repeatedly fanned fears among white Americans of crime coming from urban gangs of minority ethnic youths and drug cartels run by South Americans. Democrats since WWII moved toward accepting a more ethnically diverse democratic society. And while they often fall short in pursuing one, they have rhetorically embraced a multicultural society.


PR FOR PEOPLE THE CONNECTOR JULY 2022

Award-winning writer and filmmaker John de Graaf asks: Can beauty save the world?  Please see his essay A New Politics of Beauty for America. John de Graaf makes a solid case that beauty has transformed countless lives and is able to change cynicism to reverence. The fact that beauty makes people happier, healthier and kinder is well-documented and something we need to think about. 


Record Store Day: the Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century

Larry Jaffee’s new book, Record Store Day: the Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century, sheds light on how vinyl records were rescued from a certain death.  One astute observer, Gerhard Blum, Sony Music Entertainments Senior Vice President, Distribution and Supply Chain International, offered his comments about the resurrection of vinyl: “I saw it dying. I saw it dead. And I saw it coming out of the grave, rising from the ashes, like the whole Phoenix cycle…No one in the industry can get enough vinyl right now.”https://www.larryjaffee.com/


A NEW POLITICS OF BEAUTY FOR AMERICA

Can beauty save the world, as Dostoevsky imagined?  Is it the best bet to do so, As Doug Tompkins wagered?  In an ugly time, is it the truest of protests, as Phil Ochs declared?  I can only say that it has transformed me and that its ability to change cynicism to reverence and to make people happier, healthier and kinder is well-documented. 


Becket Has Arrived

The 1964 movie Becket tells the story of two men: England’s King Henry II,  a Norman, and his “loyal” compatriot, Thomas Becket, a Saxon. Appointed by Henry as Lord Chancellor, Becket becomes the King’s closest adviser in all matters great and small. And in an attempt to vanquish all political and religious opposition and solidify power within his monarchy, Mr. Trump,(sorry, I meant King Henry), again appoints Becket, with little to no prior experience, to replace the recently deceased Archbishop of Canterbury— the highest religious position in the realm.


Passion for overturning the Abortion Ban outweighs Anger over Inflation

   SCOTUS has lit a fire under the Democrats and Independents to get out and vote. 


Public Art in Local Libraries

While visual literacy is often associated with digital technology, other forms of visual literacy need to be taken into consideration: aesthetics as well as the cultural, ethical and contextual facets of what we are viewing. Public art plays a very important role in our local libraries.


Book Review: The Blue Flower

The story focuses on twenty-two-year-old Fritz who becomes enchanted with the twelve-year-old Sophie von Kühn and asks for her hand in marriage. No one can understand the attraction. Fritz is educated and comes from a family of substance, whereas Sophie is termed a dullard without means or money.


Book Review: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I found In Cold Blood in an antique store in Nehalem, Oregon and thought it might be worthwhile to read. I love to read books when the marketing hoopla is over and I can assess if the book can stand on its own merits. In Cold Blood has stood the test of time. 


Doin’ the Math

When I was teen-ager, growing up in Southern California, I was a beach bum. But when the red tide rolled in, it was advisable to not swim in it. Red tide occurred when algae became so numerous that they discolored coastal waters (hence the name "red tide").