SOCIAL STUDIES 101
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
DECEMBER 1, 2018

SOMETIMES I COME ACROSS SOMETHING IN THE NEWS WHICH FILLS ME WITH FEELING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE TIPS OF MY TOES, AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE.

IF THE WORD BLOCKBUSTER MEANS ANYTHING, IT APPLIES TO THE INSTANTANEOUS SUCCESS OF THIS MEMOIR BY MICHELLE OBAMA. THOSE WHO WANT TO DEMEAN OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENCY BY DEMEANING THE MAN WILL BE, I HOPE, SHAMED BY THIS. THINK, PEOPLE! WHY DO WE INDULGE IN CRUELTY?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46407734
Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming breaks sales record in 15 days
30 November 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Image caption -- Mrs Obama's book Becoming is available in 31 languages and is a bestseller in several countries GETTY IMAGES

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming has become the best-selling book released this year in the US just 15 days after publication.

It has sold more than two million copies in the US and Canada, according to NPD BookScan data.

The sales figures were announced by Penguin Random House on Friday.

The publisher says the book is also a bestseller in many other countries including Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Korea and South Africa.

Video: When Michelle Obama hugged the Queen – https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-46195712/when-michelle-obama-hugged-the-queen

Watch: Michelle on Barack, her mother and the school run

The book is a window into the personal life of the Obamas prior to, throughout, and following their time at the White House as the first African-American first lady and the first black US President Barack Obama.

In it, Mrs Obama reveals difficulties in her marriage with Barack, disclosing details of how the couple suffered a miscarriage and later used in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to conceive both children, Malia and Sasha.

The 54-year-old also criticises US President Donald Trump, writing that she can "never forgive" him for "putting my family's safety at risk" over his championing of the "birther" theory that her husband was not born in the US and thus was not a legitimate president of the US.


I, LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE, AM DEEPLY INTERESTED IN THE TRUE LIVES, BELIEFS, EMOTIONS AND ABOVE ALL, THE HUMAN REACTIONS OF THE INTELLECTUAL, POLITICAL OR ARTISTIC LEADERS, SOME OF THE RANK AND FILE "RICH AND FAMOUS" AS WELL, AND YES, I WILL JUDGE THEM ON THE BASIS OF THOSE THINGS SOMETIMES. I HAVE ALREADY READ A BIOGRAPHY OF BARACK OBAMA WHICH I ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY; BUT I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIS WIFE, THOUGH I REALLY LIKE WHAT I SEE OF HER. SHE IS STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, EDUCATED, AND INVOLVED IN HUMAN NEEDS AND AFFAIRS. I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WHEN SHE PUT A VEGETABLE GARDEN ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND I EXPECT TO ENJOY HER MEMOIR. I LOVE MEMOIRS IN PARTICULAR. WHILE I FOUND MICHAEL JACKSON'S BIOGRAPHY VERY INTERESTING, I FELT PITY FOR HIM MORE THAN ADMIRATION. HE STRUCK ME AS A PERSON WHO WAS DAMAGED EMOTIONALLY. THAT GROUP OF STARS, POLITICAL LEADERS, ETC. WHOM I ADMIRE DOESN’T USUALLY INCLUDE SIMPLE CULT IDOLS SUCH AS “REALITY TV” STARS, BUT IT DOES OUR POLITICAL LEADERS AND TEACHERS SUCH AS PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND MARTIN LUTHER KING. I LOVED BING CROSBY UNTIL HIS SON CLAIMED THAT THE SINGER HAD BEATEN HIM FREQUENTLY AS A CHILD. I DIDN'T REALLY DOUBT IT, BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS ALL TOO COMMON. FAIRLY OR NOT, I COULD NOT LISTEN TO CROSBY THE CROONER AFTER THAT. THAT’S JUST ME. IF SOMEONE IS UNAVAILABLE ON THE HUMAN LEVEL, THEN TO ME THEY ARE NOT SUPERHUMAN BUT LESSER. WE SHOULD TRY FOR WHAT IS TRULY THE BEST IN HUMAN NATURE, NOT THE MOST CONCEITED, WEALTHY OR SOCIALLY POLISHED.

I AM MOVED IN THESE NEWS STORIES BY THAT BREACH OF PROTOCOL IN ROYAL CIRCLES OF “TOUCHING THE QUEEN,” THOUGH I CAN EASILY SEE IT AS A WAY OF PRESERVING THE SAFETY OF THE MONARCH. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL TRY AN ASSASSINATION, FOR INSTANCE. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME IN THE NEWS THAT “THE QUEEN’S SPACE WAS VIOLATED” IN THIS WAY, AND THEN ALSO IT WAS BY A BLACK WOMAN. THAT WOMAN WAS POOR AND LIVING IN LONDON. THE QUEEN DID WHAT LADY DIANA HAD BEEN DOING, SHE TOURED THE WOMAN’S NEIGHBORHOOD, IN A PLANNED PART OF THE NEWS VIDEO, KNOCKED ON HER DOOR (OR AN UNDERLING DID) AND FORMALLY MET HER. IN THAT MOMENT THE LADY STEPPED FORWARD IMMEDIATELY AND GAVE QUEEN ELIZABETH II A WARM, FIRM HUG. THE QUEEN LOOKED PARTLY SHOCKED AND PARTLY PLEASED. IS IT INAPPROPRIATE, YES, BUT IT IS FORGIVEABLE.

THE STEP “ABOVE” THE ORDINARY CITIZENS THAT ROYALTY HAS MAINTAINED, DOWN THROUGH TIME AND ACROSS THE WORLD IS A STEP AWAY FROM A CERTAIN BASIC PART OF HUMAN HAPPINESS AS WELL – THE MAMMALIAN PART -- AND EQUALLY AS GREAT A REMOVE AS BEING LOWER ON THE LADDER WOULD BE. IS THERE FRIENDSHIP WITHOUT WARMTH AND VULNERABILITY, OR CAN THERE EVEN BE RESPECT? I DON’T THINK SO. IF THERE’S ONE THING I DON’T BELIEVE IN, IT’S THEORETICAL LOVE. I’VE SEEN TOO MUCH OF IT AND I KNOW IT AS THE WORST KIND OF SHAM. WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS ENCOUNTER WITH MICHELLE OBAMA IS THAT WHEN OUR FIRST LADY PUT HER ARM AROUND THE QUEEN’S SHOULDERS, THE QUEEN PUT HER ARM AROUND THE OTHER'S WAIST IN A RETURN OF WARMTH.

THANKS TO THIS QUEEN’S GENUINE OPENNESS, SHE HAS AGAIN EARNED MY RESPECT AND AFFECTION. INTELLECTUALIZATION OF ALL THINGS IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT, BUT ONLY A MORE EXPENSIVE FORM OF FOLDEROL. HOW IS IT EXPENSIVE? IT DOWNGRADES THE WHOLE CULTURE BY INDUCING AN ACTIVE EVIL, AND FOSTERS SOCIAL RANCOR, INJUSTICE AND POVERTY OF SPIRIT ALL AROUND. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THOSE BAD GUYS, THE RUSSIANS, WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN BREAKING UP OUR SOCIETAL UNITY IN 2014, 2015, AND 2016 IF IT WEREN’T FOR OUR DEEPLY INGRAINED CULTURE OF SMALL, DAILY ABUSES TOWARD OUR CHOSEN UNDERCLASSES. WE CREATED THE CRACKS AND THE RUSSIANS DROVE THEIR WEDGES IN.

THAT CONSCIOUS PRACTICE STRESSES AND FRACTURES THE SOCIAL BOND; THEN, UNDER STRESS, IT BREAKS. PEOPLE IN THE SOCIAL JUSTICE WORLD CALL THOSE “MICROAGGRESSIONS,” EXCEPT FOR THE TIMES WHEN THE AGGRESSION IS ANYTHING BUT SMALL. PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE LONG BELIEVED IN A THEORY OF SUPPRESSED ANGER AS THE CAUSE OF DEPRESSION. I DON’T THINK THAT’S IT. I THINK IT IS SUPPRESSED PAIN. SEE THIS SITE: https://books.google.com/books/about/Microaggression_Theory.html?id=XJJ_nQAACAAJ. CHRISTIANS WILL OFTEN SAY THAT “GOD DOESN’T GIVE PAIN THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO BEAR.” WELL, MAYBE, BUT THE COST CAN BE DISASTROUS, AND THE REAL DAMAGE GREAT. IT’S A MAJOR CAUSE OF BOTH SUICIDE AND MURDER.

SO, WHEN WE REPEATEDLY TREAT ONE OR MORE OF OUR CHILDREN WITH SCORN AND HARSHNESS, DO WE MAKE THEM OBEDIENT AND RESPECTFUL, OR DO WE MAKE THEM RELATIVELY UNABLE TO FUNCTION TO THEIR FULLEST AND EMBRACE LOVE IN THEIR OWN LIVES? WHY? BECAUSE THAT SORT OF TREATMENT IS A POISON. OUR CHILDREN ARE LIKE A BLACKBOARD, AND IF THEY ARE DEFILED BY CRUDE AND NEGATIVE WORDS OR WORSE, THEY WILL NOT REPRESENT US IN THE WORLD AS WE WOULD WISH; AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY WON’T LOVE US AS MUCH, EITHER. HOW COULD THEY? IN FACT, THERE ARE FEW THINGS MORE DANGEROUS THAN DAMAGED LOVE AS IT REVERTS TO IT’S OPPOSITE FACE OF HATE.

THE WITHHOLDING OF LOVE WITHIN A FAMILY IS MORE LIKELY TO BE THE CAUSE OF A CHILD’S TURNING TO CRIME THAN IS LOVING THEM TOO MUCH. WHEN I SAY “LOVE” HERE, I DON’T MEAN THE FAILURE TO GIVE GUIDANCE, BUT HAVE AS MUCH GENTLENESS AS POSSIBLE. CHILDREN EVEN AS YOUNG AS THREE OR FOUR CAN UNDERSTAND VERBAL COMMUNICATION FAIRLY WELL, AND HELPING THEM TO UNDERSTAND IS BETTER THAN FRIGHTENING THEM.

IN EVERYTHING WE NEED BALANCE. THAT WAS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF STRESS BETWEEN PARENT AND CHILD IN THE OVERRATED MOVIE “ON GOLDEN POND.” TO ME, THAT WAS A SOP TO THE CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL WORLD. BESIDES, THE ONLY REASON FOR THAT MOVIE WAS TO PUBLICLY SHAME JANE FONDA, WHO HAD BEEN ACTIVE AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR AND GOT INTO A SCRAPE AFTER WHICH SHE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE TREASONOUS. I CAN’T EASILY DEFEND WHAT SHE DID, BUT I MAINLY THOUGHT IT WAS HAREBRAINED RATHER THAN TREASON. MANY HOLLYWOOD PEOPLE STRIKE ME AS BEING EMOTIONALLY WOBBLY. SHE HAD STRONG ANTI-WAR FEELINGS AS DID SO MANY THEN, SHE OPPOSED THE WAR WITH POLITICAL ACTIVISM, AND SHE WENT TOO FAR. THERE WERE MANY LIKE HER.

THAT INTERPERSONAL RANCOR IN A FAMILY SETS UP A SITUATION WHICH WILL AFFECT THE MEMBERS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, AND BRANCHING OUTWARD, WILL ALSO INFECT THE WHOLE SOCIETY. THE ANTISEMITISM OF THE WORLD COMES FROM THAT KIND OF HOSTILITY, AND OTHER NEGATIVE EMOTIONS MOVING FROM PERSON TO PERSON, LIKE A STAIN. IF PARENTS WOULD REALIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, APOLOGIZE TO THEIR CHILD FOR THE OVERREACTIONS, TRY TO AVOID THEM, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, REESTABLISH THE UNDERSTANDING OF LOVE BETWEEN THEM. THINGS WILL GO MUCH BETTER AND THE CHILD’S BEHAVIOR WILL IMPROVE ALSO. THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES OF CHILDREN BROUGHT UP WITH CORPORAL PUNISHMENT WHICH SHOW A PATTERN OF THE CHILD BECOMING ANGRY AND REBELLIOUS RATHER THAN MORE DOCILE. IF THOSE FENCE-MENDING ACTS ARE DONE, THEN THE “EVIL” CAN BE REPLACED BY THE MOST IMPORTANT “GOOD” IN THE WORLD – WARMTH, AFFECTION AND HOPE. IT’S BETTER THAN DIAMONDS AND FURS OR GREAT MANSIONS.

IN SHORT, NOTHING IS TRUER THAN THE BEATLES SONG DURING OUR AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE 1960S AND ‘70S, “ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE;” AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE TRULY HAPPY, “GOOD,” OR MENTALLY HEALTHY WITHOUT IT. AM I PREACHING AGAIN? YES. I BELIEVE CERTAIN THINGS ARE WORTH PREACHING ABOUT, AND THAT THE ONLY WAY TO CONVINCE PEOPLE OF THE PATH WHERE WE SHOULD WALK IS REPETITION AND CONSISTENCY, FOLLOWING WORD WITH MODELING. WE HUMANS FORGET EASILY.

SO, THANK YOU, QUEEN ELIZABETH, FOR SHOWING CONSIDERABLE HUMANITY. I LOVED IT WHEN YOU STEPPED IN BEHIND A YOUNG WOMAN TAKING A SELFIE AT AN OUTDOOR EVENT A FEW YEARS AGO AND SMILED WIDELY FOR THE PICTURE. IT IS MY EXPERIENCE THAT PEOPLE WHO CAN’T BE MOVED TO AN HONEST SMILE, TEARS OR KINDNESS AT THE LEAST, AREN’T WORTH BOTHERING WITH; AND PEOPLE WHO DO NOT RESPOND WITH WARMTH TO WARMTH LEAVE MUCH TO BE DESIRED AS WELL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO BE “RESERVED.”

IT’S PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY THEMSELVES ARE EMOTIONALLY UNDERDEVELOPED OR DAMAGED, BUT IT'S VERY HURTFUL. IF THEY ARE ACTUALLY MALICIOUS, AWARE THAT THEIR BEHAVIOR CAUSES GRIEF AND YET THEY DO IT ANYWAY, ESPECIALLY IF FOR THEIR OWN PLEASURE, THEN THEY DON’T DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN UNLESS THEY REPENT AND TRY TO CHANGE. OF COURSE, MOTHER THERESA IN HER GREAT POEM “ANYWAY,” SAID TO FORGIVE THEM “ANYWAY.” I WILL TRY TO DO THAT, BECAUSE SHE IMPRESSES ME IN SO MANY WAYS, AND IN THIS CASE SHE IS CORRECT. I DON’T BELIEVE IN THE LAKE OF FIRE, BUT I DO SEE HOW GOOD USUALLY BREEDS GOOD, AND MY LACK OF FORGIVENESS BREEDS MICROAGGRESSIONS OF MY OWN. IT’S THE WHEEL OF KARMA, CAUSE AND EFFECT, OR IN JESUS’ WORDS, “DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.” HAVING JUST DELIVERED THIS SERMONETTE, I WILL TRY TO SEE THESE FLAWS IN MYSELF AS WELL AS OTHERS, THE TRULY HARD PART.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1044951/queen-elizabeth-II-news-michelle-obama-queen-hug-becoming-royal-news
Queen Elizabeth II: Michelle Obama opens up 'epic faux pas' moment – HUGGING the Queen
MICHELLE Obama has opened up about the moment she appeared to hug the Queen, admitting the moment was an “epic faux pas”.
By KATIE HARRIS
PUBLISHED: 20:38, Tue, Nov 13, 2018 | UPDATED: 20:50, Tue, Nov 13, 2018

Mrs Obama has discussed her encounter with the monarch which took place in April 2009, with the then-US President’s wife appearing to break royal protocol.

Barack Obama’s wife raised eyebrows when she put her arm around the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

But the former First Lady has revealed that the pair were in fact bonding over their painful shoes.

Writing in her new book, titled Becoming, Mrs Obama described how the Queen commented on her height.

Mrs Obama replied that her heels made her taller.

The former First Lady said: “I confessed then to the Queen that my feet were hurting. She confessed that hers hurt, too.

“We looked at each other then with identical expressions, like, 'When is all this standing around with world leaders going to finally wrap up?' And with this, she busted out with a fully charming laugh.

“Forget that she sometimes wore a diamond crown and that I’d flown to London on the presidential jet; we were just two tired ladies oppressed by our shoes.

Michelle Obama hugging the Queen

Michelle Obama was accused of breaking royal protocol (Image: GETTY)
“I then did what’s instinctive to me any time I feel connected to a new person, which is to express my feelings outwardly. I laid a hand affectionately across her shoulder.

“I couldn’t have known it in the moment, but I was committing what would be deemed an epic faux pas.”

Mrs Obama insisted that the Queen did not mind, with the monarch responding by mirroring the friendly gesture.

The former First Lady said: “If I hadn’t done the proper thing at Buckingham Palace, I had at least done the human thing.

“I daresay that the Queen was okay with it, too, because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back.”

The moment came during the Mr Obama’s first trip to the UK as US President for the G20 summit in London.

But it did prompt a strong reaction with claims that the former First Lady breached royal protocol.


FINAL HYMN: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7xMfIp-irg

BLESSING: RAVEL’S BOLERO ON A STREET IN SPAIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsF53JpBMlk