Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 48 (238 total reports)
01.01.20245-08.01.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel, MBA, D.Min.
In the midst of the obvious cacophony that 45 and his minions are going to introduce into the world, we are all going to need strategies for sustaining our own sanity. This week’s blog focuses on creating resistance strategies.
Song of the Week
Rosa Parks was no stranger to the Civil Rights movement when she was asked to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to make room for white passengers. Her refusal to move led to her arrest, and her arrest led to the Montgomery Bus Strike from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956. 381 days! Why didn’t she move? She was tired; tired of being pushed around. Her “stand” for justice by sitting down, is one example of non-accommodation. I feature Rosa in my new compilation of people who have not cooperated with injustice and were known as dissidents. If you’re interested in this new compilation, click here: Good Trouble.
Top Links of the Week
08.01.2025
The Surgeon General just wrote you a prescription for happiness. Here's what it says
There are so many things I’m going to miss about the Biden administration, but a primary one will certainly be the professionalism and knowledge of its public servants. Biden did not appoint political hacks or billionaires to his cabinet and one example is his Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy. Murthy has been a leader in confronting the epidemic of loneliness in the US. In his closing recommendation, he gives a prescription for happiness. Something we’re all going to need to make it through the upcoming years of political shenanigans and outright lunacy. Murthy’s formula is simple, yet profound. He suggests three characteristics of happiness that include: 1) Relationships, 2) Service, and 3) Purpose. These are not three qualities he pulled from the air, they’re heavily supported by research. People who grow these habits (and indeed, they can be grown), are proven to be happier and have a higher sense of well-being. What can you do to begin to grow these habits in your life and the lives of those around you? How can you incorporate them in your dealings with others, your teaching, or raising of young people?
07.01.2025
Did Maslow Get Self-Actualization Wrong?
The points made in this article are enlightening, but I think it is based on incomplete information. Maslow scholars know that Maslow spent time in his latter years doing research with the Blackfoot Peoples in Northern Alberta (six weeks with the Skisika Nation, in 1938) and was in the process of amending some of his own work given what he learned about their concepts of self-actualization. However, he didn’t live long enough to publish these findings. In his latter (unpublished) papers, Maslow spoke of a stage beyond Self-Actualization, that of Self-Transcendence, meaning the final stage of our growth is not focused on self, but ultimately, on community. This is in keeping with the findings the author draws out in her article. This article is well worth the read for its many points about how the Blackfoot Tribe differed in their concept of “flourishing.” Please take time to look over it. I’m sure we can all use more hints on flourishing and perhaps we can help mentor others. Given yesterday’s article about, “The Decade of Discontent,” is there a more important time to teach people to flourish and embrace self-transcendence?
06.01.2025
Welcome to the Decade of Discontent.
This article reviews the data showing the deep unrest in our social structure today. It shows the result of super-elites hoarding resources to themselves while increasingly larger classes of people are unable to even start their life. Already indications of the next administration show that these super-elites are going to do more to use power to secure their own fortunes and take resources from the middle and lower classes. Our own contemporary history shows that we have not reached the “pain point” where people realize they are being lied to and their meager resources are being stripped away. The USA just fired the administration that focused on infrastructure and building the middle class while voting in a huckster who is already saying he “won’t be able to deliver” on some of his most basis promises. This article points to the hard evidence of an economic and societal collapse that is just beginning, leading to what the author is calling a “decade of discontent.”
05.01.2025
As Trump's election is certified, Americans should declare war on stupidity | Opinion
As the results of this last election become clear, one of the things becoming apparent is that 45 (and his handlers) have normalized public stupidity. Whether it’s the attempted appointment of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General or the development of a new department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the elevation of the non-intelligent in favor of those with an agenda to complete 45’s revenge is in plain view. The dumbing down of American politics seems to be apparent everywhere in the world—except the United States itself—where being stupid is being elevated to an elite class.
04.01.2025
“There is no morality right now”: Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Donald Trump's GOP
I admire former Republican Representative Kinzinger deeply (despite being a supply-side, Reaganomics believer). His track record and commitment to honesty speak for itself. If you are unaware of this man’s bona fides, take a moment to read through this article. I believe he captures the lost respect of the GOP and their 45 leader in this article. His argument is our argument if you see the election of a criminal, rapist, authoritarian to the White House as a disgrace to this nation and its values. If you don’t, maybe some of Kinzinger’s insights will spur you to examine your own beliefs.
03.01.2025
In 2025 and beyond, schools need to teach more than just ‘the basics’
Schools that focus on teaching the “basics” are basing their “basics” on a Prussian model that is hundreds of years old. Imagine if we allowed other sectors of society to follow this standard; we’d have no airplanes, certainly no technology, and medicine would still involve no anesthetics. While such archaic guidelines would be unthinkable in the rest of our economy, we seem to accommodate such thinking in education and religion (even worse when they combine). Even our definition of “the Basics” must change. The idea that only teaching readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) can adequately prepare young people to live in our world today is unsustainable. As this article points out, schools need to be prepared to teach cognitive skills and—what the author calls—non-cognitive skills. Emotional Quotient is one such skill and a far better indicator of how well one will do in their career. This will only become increasingly true as AI (think “Augmented Intelligence”, not, “Artificial Intelligence”) becomes increasing incorporated into our lives (outside of dysfunctional school divisions). In yesterday’s review, we saw how the advanced school system of Finland is teaching students how to spot Disinformation. Such knowledge will become increasingly important in our world as authoritarians take over education. Will we demand that this becomes part of the “Basics” that schools teach or will it also be thrown into the Project 2025 dung heap along with DEI (learning about people’s difference) and “Being Woke (learning compassion and kindness)?”
02.01.2025
How Finnish Youth Learn To Spot Disinformation
The education system of Finland ranks among the top in the world. One of the primary reasons is that they focus on educating as opposed to indoctrinating. They even teach young people how to spot disinformation in their schools. This will definitely NOT be a part of GOP’s agenda for education during the era of 45 and Project 2025. In fact, if our children are going to be able to recognize disinformation, they are going to need to learn these critical skills at home or in small community-based schools. This article highlights the importance of this curriculum and what it has provided to the youth who have participated in these classes. Perhaps you have a way to influence the information young people will be receiving in an era of intentional government deceit. Or, perhaps you know adults who could benefit from this information. Either way, this article is a great primer for accumulating some of the basic necessities for arming yourself against mass, global, disinformation.
01.01.2025
Gratitude, a Road to Lasting Happiness
Our resilience will be more important than ever in this coming year and the best path to resilience is the habit of gratitude. This article looks at building a habit of gratitude into your daily life and the long-term effects on you and yours. How will you grow gratitude this year and how can you teach it to others?
