Sitemap - 2021 - Slender Threads / Global Citizens / Public History
Magical Christmas Observances in the Middle East
In the 1950s, A Severely Disabled Child Could Wreak Havoc on a Family
Eulogy to a Severely-Disabled Brother
Ban Abortion After 15 Weeks of Pregnancy?
Having A Politically-Savvy Best Friend Made A Big Difference To Our Family
Severe Down Syndrome in the 1950s: An Older Sister’s Perspective
Why I Support Legal Late-Term Abortion
Culture Shocks & Ethical Dilemmas
Thanksgiving Games, New Perspectives
Remembering Those Born in the 1800s
Remembering Grandmother Lessie and Her Remarkable Siblings, All Born in the 19th Century
Can Fresh Faces of Virginia Republicans Move Party Away from Trump and Racist Appeals?
The Truth Will Eventually Be Revealed...
What I Love and Hate About the South
Polarization: Worse In The 1960s and 70s?
How Much Early Black American History Do You Know?
The Slow-Motion Coup to 2025. Moving Toward Civil War in US. Hot Or Cold?
Is the U.S. Political System Essentially Stable?
How to Avoid a Second Civil War?
50 Signs U.S. Is Moving Toward Civil War
Could the US Civil War Have Been Avoided?
Avoiding False Choices Between Extremes When Studying the American Civil War
How Has Your Perspective Changed Since 9/11?
Podcast 6: Newly Discovered Cousins
Podcast 5: Pride, Virtue-Signaling, and Shaming
Podcast 4: Reclaiming My Southern Heritage By Visiting Civil War Sites
Podcast 3: Trying to Escape 'The Burden of Southern History'
Podcast 2: To This White Southern Child, the Civil War Seemed Quite Recent
How My Perspective Has Changed Since 9/11/2001
When Stopping for a Cup of Coffee Was The Difference Between Life and Death
Backlash to Removal of Robert E. Lee's Statue
Iconic Statue of Robert E. Lee Is Removed in Richmond
Afghanistan & U.S. Role in the World
After 40 Years of War, Afghanistan Is Lost
Memories of Turkish Students Still Warm My Heart
2 Bright New Discoveries on Substack
Personal Memories of Richard Nixon's Resignation
Six Years Living in the United Arab Emirates Were Expansive, Mind-Boggling
11 Questions and Answers About My Time Teaching in the UAE
As a Teen, If You Don't Study History, You Are Much More Likely To...
New Business Models for Creators, Writers, Educators, Historians?
Why 'Slender Threads'? Rationale Behind This Newsletter/Website
Cultural Shocks After 'Foreign' Haircuts
Culture Shock! 14 Posts On Coping With Uncomfortable Cultural Changes
Feeling Like A Space Alien in Turkey
Culture Shock: Middle Eastern Men and Women Are Group-oriented Rather Than Individually Oriented
Culture Shock: Segregated Lives for Men and Women
Culture Shock: Battling Traffic in Some Countries Gives Me Anxiety
First Impressions of Teaching English At University in Abu Dhabi
What Americans Can Learn from Turkish and Arab Muslims
Experiencing Culture Shock, Offensive Questions from Both Sides of the Global Divide
The Upsides and Downsides of Globalization
Traveling, Living, Working, Studying or Teaching Abroad: An Overview
35 Key Questions About Globalization for Students to Explore
Dangers of Excessive Globalization Are Clear
Globalization: The Up-Side and the Down-Side
Globalization Created My Family…and Backlash
Age of Global Migration Disrupts, Stabilizes Politics and Cultures Worldwide
When the American Economy Collapsed, We Found Jobs Abroad
Surge of Patriotism, Fear of Being Pegged, Stereotyped
Venturing Outside One’s Comfort Zone
Allure of International Travel and Adventure
Fear of the World: Unrealistic Vs. Healthy Apprehension
Experiencing a Foreign Country Is Like Time Travel
Living Abroad As Fairy Tales, Comedies, Tragedies
International Travel Beckons Again
Cruise Industry Plans Comeback
My Grandmother Lessie Covington’s 1914 Travel Diary Aboard Early Cruise Ship
Comparing a 19th Century Cruise to a 21st Century Cruise
Setting Off on an 18-Day Mediterranean Cruise
The Lure of International Travel Pre- and Post-Pandemic
Fighting for a Human Future in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Welcome to the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
The Civil War Lives On In Contemporary American Life. A Mini-course
Traveling the World Inspires ‘What Ifs’
‘You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument’
Reckoning With Monuments to Columbus, Washington, Other Slave-holding Founders
Reflections on Removing Woodrow Wilson, Stonewall Jackson, Richmond Monuments
Monuments, Statues and a National Reckoning on Racial Injustice and Liberty
Public Opinion in U.S. Is Undergoing Transformation on ‘Racist’ Symbols
Revising Opinions of Robert E. Lee
A White Southerner Tries to Grapple With Family Heritage and History
‘Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon’
Age of Absolute Monarchs Ruling By Divine Right Or Despotism Has Ended…Or Has It?
White Southerners Still Reckoning With Their Heritage
Mini-Course on Autocracy, Authoritarianism and Surveillance Societies As Global Threat
Nationalism and Transnationalism: Forces for Good or Evil?
Developing Historical Perspective and Using Historical Methods
Lessons of History, Theories of History in the Popular Imagination
Pandemics: A 16-Post Mini-Course
Mini-course in Working Through Hyper-Partisan Stalemates
Educators Faced Increasing Restrictions on Teaching, Research in the Middle East
'Orwellian': Over-used, Manipulative Term on Both the Right and Left
Reflection on the ‘God of History’
Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present
What Is 'Democracy'? What Is 'Freedom'?
Academic Freedom In Danger Worldwide
A Snapshot of Life In An Authoritarian Culture
Conformity, Obedience to Narrative, More Important Than Critical Thinking in UAE, US Classrooms
Table of Contents for 'Slender Threads'
Living in an Orwellian Nightmare Offers Grim Vision of the Future
Teaching Freedom of Speech, the Press, and Media Law in the Middle East in Contrast to US
War Against Misinformation, Disinformation May Be Lost
Conspiracy Theories Spread Worldwide. What Can Be Done?
A Blow for Freedom-Fighters: Inspiring Journalist, Teacher, Middle East Expert Died At Age 46
Lost Cause: Trying to Teach Democratic Values Abroad in an Anti-Democratic Era
Dystopian, Oppressive Societies; Exploitative Environments; Spiritual Poverty Can Exist Anywhere
Is U.S. Headed for Authoritarian, Unrepresentative Autocracy?
How Algorithms Shape Lives, Social Media Tracks Behavior and Undermines Democracy
Surveillance Societies Past and Future: It’s Much Easier, Cheaper Today Than in the Old Days
China Is Creating 21st Century Surveillance State, Authoritarian Model for Others
Surveillance Societies: Increasing Danger to Privacy, Freedom of Expression
Are We 'Amusing Ourselves To Death'?
Why Fascism and Authoritarianism Are So Tempting
‘History Grounds Us’ + 20 Lessons on Tyranny
‘Inevitable’ Triumph of Democracy, Capitalism Now Very Much in Doubt
Does Kafka Predict Our Future By Describing the Czech Republic’s Authoritarian Past?
How Do Pandemics Change Humans and Societies? We Are Eyewitnesses to History
Measure The Years Instead of the Hours
Ask Students: What Causes Historical Change?
Historical Study Offers Insights That Journalism, Political Science Can’t
When Studying ‘Western Civilization’ Was Code Words for White Supremacy
Is the Past ‘A Foreign Country’?
Ironies of History, American Idealism and Cynicism As Observed By Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
Is History, As Henry Ford Said, Just Useless Bunk?
Generational Approach to Studying History Offers Insights
Opposite of Nationalism: Transnationalism. Does It Have A Future in a Post-Pandemic World?
Officially Repatriated, Thoughts On Being American; National Anthem; Right to Protest
Desecration of the American Flag from Left and Right: Legal, But How Offensive?
National Anthems Spark Positive and Negative Emotions
European Imperialism of 19th Century Was Closely Linked to Nationalism. Asians Eventually Revolted
Nationalism Spread Through Europe, the US, Latin America and into Japan in the 1800s
Should You Be A Nationalist? Distinguishing Nationalism from Patriotism
America’s Big Fight Over Nothing: The Political Spectrum Does Not Exist
Manifest Destiny Was One Inspiration for Coast-to-Coast American Empire
Political History Is Important For Learning the Art of Compromise
Quotes on History to Reflect Upon
‘History Will Be the Judge,’ Or Is It An ‘Argument Without End’?
What Is Your Philosophy of History?
What History Was, Is, and Will Be: John Green of Crash Course Explains
Why Study History? What Can A History Major Do? What Makes for a Good History Student?
Thinking Like A Historian, Learning Historical Methodology Can Be Utilized Throughout Life
Can Historical Study Reveal the Meaning of Life?
Those Who Harshly Judge Humans of the Past Deserve to be Harshly Judged
Similarities and Differences Between Journalists and Historians
Mythology and Archetypes Inform Our Historical Understanding
Causality: Without It, Historical Change Doesn’t Happen
Butterfly Effect, Chaos Theory, Black Swans
What Happened Didn’t Have to Happen…Or Did It?
Exploring Divine Providence, Retribution, Karma
Who Was Most Important Person of 20th Century? Gavrilo Princip??
Traveling Back in Time to Leo Tolstoy’s Home in Rural Russia
Are We Slaves to Fate, Random Chaos, Divine Providence?
Great Men and Women Can Shape History, But...
‘Why 1850 Doesn’t Feel So Very Far Away’
Meditation on Alexandre Dumas’ Concepts of ‘Slender Threads’, Fortune, Fate, and Destiny
In Second Civil War, Geographical Divide Wouldn't Be Clear-cut, Says BU Historian Nina Silber
‘Forever Foreigners’ Or ‘The Other’ Have Been Blamed Throughout History for Viruses
First Reaction to 1980s’ AIDS Epidemic Was Denial, As Is Always The Case
Swine Flu Rode to Greensboro Aboard Circus Train in 1918
Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-20: What Can We Learn? How Did the World Recover?
Sir Isaac Newton in 1660s Used Quarantine At Home Away from Plague Quite Well
London’s Great Plague in 1665 Killed One in Three Citizens
541: First Plague in Recorded History Killed Half the World’s Population
We May Have A Sense of Impending Doom, But Humankind Has a Hopeful Future
Covid-19 Ushered in a New Political Era
For Most of Human History, Outbreaks of Disease, Disability and Death Were Commonplace
The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance
Preparing For and Minimizing Future Pandemics
Wisdom of the Common People? Faith in Democracy?
Finding a Sane Middle Ground on Abortion, Guns?
Political Ideology in America: What It Is, How It Developed
'Ages of Discord' Model Predicts Unstable 2020s, Potential for Civil War
'Braver Angels' Grassroots Movement Seeks to Heal Hyper-Partisan Divide
US Civil War Explains American Identity
How Liberalism and Conservatism Have Changed Since the 19th Century
Overdue Political Realignments Spark Desperation, Hyper-partisanship
Current Events Remind Us That Civilization Is Fragile
What Readers Are Saying About This Material
Today’s Political Polarization Harkens to 1500s: Printing Press, Protestant Reformation
Are We Headed Towards A New Civil War?
Tracking Reversals By Liberals, Conservatives, Democrats, Republicans
Both Conservatism & Liberalism Have Internal Contradictions, Logical Flaws
With Your Favorite Political Party or Leader Dominating Politics, Write Alternative History
Drawing Insight From Past Eras of Hyper-Partisanship
America's Great Divide: From Obama Through Trump
Alamance County, NC: Ground Zero for the Hyper-Partisan Divide in America
From Instant Affinity With Other Americans Abroad to Suspicion of 'Them' At Home
Might Americans Agree on What Happened in the Past?
American Identity, 1945 to 2020, Has Evolved. Where Is It Headed? It's Up to US
Society's Slender Threads Are Fraying
Advice to Firebrands and Ideologues
Hyper-Partisanship and Bullying Damage Democratic Norms in US and Around the World
'People Make Choices. Choices Make History'
Alexandre Dumas and the Origin of ‘Slender Threads’
Biographies, Nations Almost Always Contain Precarious Moments, Slender Threads
Seeking Common Ground on Politics, History, Tech, Global Culture, Religion, the Arts, Humor