Dreamland

I am reading an excellent book, Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, by Sam Quinones. It is a well-written expose of how the opiate epidemic became, well, an epidemic. I have only read about one-seventh of the book and am greatly enjoying it.

The part I find most interesting is the detailed background Quinones goes into concerning some of the dealers and their lower-level workers. He makes it more understandable why so many young Mexicans want to get involved with this business. And I would surmise he knows much more than the average journalist because he lived in Mexico for about 10 years.

And he does a good job of breaking down the science behind opiates, helping you understand the details concerning black tar heroin and prescription pain pills.

Yet, its biggest asset is probably that it is just plain great storytelling. Whereas some books on the  subject can contain too many statistics and be too polemic, this one is exceedingly user-friendly.

***

Value in Acknowledging Adolescents' Perspectives

A recent study in the journal Child Development found some interesting things. The gist of the study showed that when parents acknowledge the viewpoints of their adolescent children and encourage them to express themselves, "the youths have a stronger sense of self-worth, intrinsic motivation, and engagement, and also have less depression."

This applies across cultures. This study did delve into other issues related to agency and control, but I found this main finding to be noteworthy. This is something I've believed in and practiced, so it is good to see more backing for it.

Journal Reference: 

Kristine N. Marbell-Pierre, Wendy S. Grolnick, Andrew L. Stewart, Jacquelyn N. Raftery-Helmer. Parental Autonomy Support in Two Cultures: The Moderating Effects of Adolescents' Self-Construals. Child Development, 2017; 10.1111/cdev. 12947 

***

More Euphony

As I wrote in an earlier post, I find euphonious phrases and sentences pleasurable. Here is some more I've collected:

--[Playing on] "the stereos of hand-me-down minivans all over the country" (Sasha Geffen)

--"Sometimes a little self-deprecation can go a long way." ("   ")

--"If you don't expect too much from me/you might not be let down." (The Gin Blossoms)

--"Life is a zetetic adventure." (Myself)

--[to] "keep us in a permanent state of agitation" (Alan Jacobs)

--"All bend the knee to the dollar, and all are in service to capitalism." (Myself)

--"What can be found in the liminal space between human and machine?" (Katie Walsh)

--"at the dawn of the digital age" ("     ")

--"the array of faces that populate the library" ("    ")

***

On Not Leaving Las Vegas

The recent rampage by a shooter in Las Vegas is in the news. The shooter killed almost 60 people and wounded over 500.

The incident brings up the familiar topic of gun control vs. gun rights. I lean heavily toward the former. Probably the main reason has to do with the gun violence in other countries. The question arises, Why does the U.S. have such a wild, over-the-top number of gun deaths compared to other high-income countries? To me, it has to relate mainly to the U.S. having over 300 million firearms.

I know, the N.R.A. sees it differently. Yet, the leaders of the N.R.A. have a vested interest in keeping their members happy and staying on the good side of firearms manufacturers. It relates to money.

As of 2010 data, Kayne B. Robinson, the executive director of general operations, made just over $1 million. Wayne Lapierre, chief of the N.R.A., made $970, 000. And Chris Cox, executive director of lobbying, made just over $660,000.

Wow! I hope these people can make ends meet.

***