Liberal Morals and Liberal Minds Presented by Adam Gopnik
Adam Gopnik, award-winning essayist for The New Yorker magazine and author of books on the French culinary tradition (The Table Comes First) and many other subjects, will discuss his new book on the nature of liberalism, A Thousand Small Sanities (Basic Books).
Sponsored by the Political Economy Project at Dartmouth College
Filmed on
Monday, October 7, 2019 | 4:30PM
Room 01, Rockefeller Hall
Dartmouth College
Jose JG Gonzalez Open Discussion - 184 - After show
Join me on my Discord server, Church of the Cathode Follower. Most things are open for discussion, especially technology and the visual arts. As well of course the woo.
If you have a little spare cash, and would like to help support a really great community organisation, please consider the Grow Organisation. They have been supporting me for a couple of years now, and is in real danger of closing at the moment. Find them here:
And here's a direct link to the PayPal donate page:
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy | Full Audiobook with subtitles | Part 1 of 2
The Woodlanders is one of Hardy's later novels, although he originally intended it as a successor to Far From The Madding Crowd. It concerns the life and loves of Giles Winterborne, Grace Melbury, Edred Fitzpiers, Felice Charmond and Marty South. The topics of class, fidelity and loyalty are dealt with in Hardy's exquisite style and set in the beautiful woodlands of Hintock (T.Hynes)
The Woodlanders (version 2)
Thomas HARDY
Genre(s): Romance, Published 1800 -1900 Audio Book Audiobooks All Rights Reserved. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit librivox.org.
4 Bedroom duplex in Gonubie | Property East London | Ref: K88859
Click to view This property:
London | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
London
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
London ( (listen) LUN-dən) is the capital and largest city of both the United Kingdom and England. Standing on the River Thames in southeastern England, 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary with the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportation. London, the fourth fastest-growing city, is 26 out of 300 major cities for economic performance. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or sixth largest metropolitan area GDP. It is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games.London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2016 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was 8,787,892, the most populous of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The population within the London commuter belt is the most populous in the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. London was the world’s most populous city from c. 1831 to 1925.
London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory, Greenwich defines the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and Greenwich Mean Time. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. London has numerous museums, galleries, libraries and sporting events. These include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.
Industrial archaeology | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:19 1 IA topics and sites
00:03:47 2 History of industrial archaeology
00:03:57 2.1 Early developments
00:06:12 2.2 Beginnings of the IA movement
00:10:21 2.3 1970s-1980s
00:13:26 2.4 Since 1990
00:15:52 3 IA organizations
00:16:43 4 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9077225279146373
Voice name: en-AU-Wavenet-D
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, documents and other items associated with the production, manufacture, extraction, transport or construction of a product or range of products. The field of industrial archaeology incorporates a range of disciplines including archaeology, architecture, construction, engineering, historic preservation, museology, technology, urban planning and other specialties, in order to piece together the history of past industrial activities. The scientific interpretation of material evidence is often necessary, as the written record of many industrial techniques is often incomplete or nonexistent. Industrial archaeology includes both the examination of standing structures and sites that must be studied by an excavation.The field of industrial archaeology developed during the 1950s in Great Britain, at a time when many historic industrial sites and artifacts were being lost throughout that country, including the notable case of Euston Arch in London. In the 1960s and 1970s, with the rise of national cultural heritage movements, industrial archaeology grew as a distinct form of archaeology, with a strong emphasis on preservation, first in Great Britain, and later in the United States and other parts of the world. During this period, the first organized national industrial heritage inventories were begun, including the Industrial Monuments Survey in England and the Historic American Engineering Record in the United States. Additionally, a number of regional and national IA organizations were established, including the North American-based Society for Industrial Archeology in 1971, and the British-based Association for Industrial Archaeology in 1973. That same year, the First International Conference on the Conservation of Industrial Monuments was held at Ironbridge in Shropshire. This conference led, in 1978, to the formal establishment of The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (commonly known as TICCIH) as a worldwide organization for the promotion of industrial heritage. The members of these and other IA groups are generally a diverse mix of professionals and amateurs who share a common interest in promoting the study, appreciation and preservation of industrial heritage resources.
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City. Waterbury is located in New Haven County, Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, Waterbury had a total population of 110,366, making it the 10th largest city in the New York Metropolitan Area, 9th largest city in New England and the 5th largest city in Connecticut.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century Waterbury had large industrial interests and was the leading center in the United States for the manufacture of brassware, as reflected in the nickname the Brass City and the city's motto Quid Aere Perennius?, which echoes the Latin of Horace's Ode 3.30. It was noted for the manufacture of watches and clocks.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Bath, Somerset | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:23 1 History
00:02:32 1.1 Iron Age and Roman
00:04:46 1.2 Post-Roman and Medieval
00:08:33 1.3 Early Modern
00:12:04 1.4 Late Modern
00:14:41 2 Government
00:14:59 2.1 Historical development
00:16:27 2.2 Charter trustees
00:17:31 2.3 Coat of Arms
00:18:26 2.4 Bath City Forum
00:18:49 2.5 Parliamentary elections
00:20:11 2.6 Electoral wards
00:21:10 3 Geography and environment
00:21:19 3.1 Physical geography
00:23:40 3.2 Climate
00:25:29 3.3 Green belt
00:26:36 4 Demography
00:26:45 4.1 District
00:28:11 4.2 City
00:29:02 5 Economy
00:29:11 5.1 Industry
00:30:51 5.2 Tourism
00:32:36 6 Architecture
00:39:12 7 Culture
00:41:34 7.1 Bath in the arts
00:44:31 7.2 Parks
00:46:44 7.3 Bath and Queen Victoria
00:47:18 7.4 Food
00:48:56 7.5 Twinning
00:49:26 7.5.1 Formal twinning
00:49:44 8 Education
00:50:51 9 Sport
00:55:03 10 Transport
00:55:12 10.1 Roads
00:57:12 10.2 Rivers and canals
00:57:59 10.3 Railways
00:59:29 10.4 Trams
00:59:37 10.4.1 Historic
01:00:37 10.4.2 Possible re-introduction
01:01:57 11 Media
01:02:57 12 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.8511182576851827
Voice name: en-AU-Wavenet-B
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Bath is the largest city in the county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage site in 1987.
The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis) c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although hot springs were known even before then.
Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era. Georgian architecture, crafted from Bath stone, includes the Royal Crescent, Circus, Pump Room and Assembly Rooms where Beau Nash presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood, the Elder, and in the 18th century the city became fashionable and the population grew. Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II.
The city has software, publishing and service-oriented industries. Theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues have helped make it a major centre for tourism, with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year.
There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, the Victoria Art Gallery, the Museum of East Asian Art, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Fashion Museum, and the Holburne Museum. The city has two universities – the University of Bath and Bath Spa University – with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F.C..
Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, following Avon's abolition in 1996, has been the principal centre of Bath and North East Somerset.
Waterbury, Connecticut | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Waterbury, Connecticut
00:01:17 1 History
00:05:11 1.1 Notable historic events
00:07:47 2 Geography
00:08:25 2.1 Neighborhoods
00:09:00 2.2 Transportation
00:10:33 3 Demographics
00:15:19 4 Economy
00:16:02 5 Government
00:21:25 6 Foreign relations
00:21:34 6.1 Consulate office
00:21:51 6.2 Sister cities
00:22:05 7 Education
00:22:51 7.1 List of schools
00:24:29 8 Emergency services
00:24:39 8.1 Fire department
00:25:01 8.2 Police department
00:25:44 9 Local media
00:26:20 10 Landmarks
00:33:36 10.1 On the National Register of Historic Places
00:34:10 11 In popular culture
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Waterbury (nicknamed The Brass City) is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, Waterbury had a population of 110,366, making it the 10th largest city in the New York Metropolitan Area, 9th largest city in New England and the 5th largest city in Connecticut.Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Waterbury had large industrial interests and was the leading center in the United States for the manufacture of brassware (including castings and finishings), as reflected in the nickname the Brass City and the city's motto Quid Aere Perennius? (What Is More Lasting Than Brass?). It was also noted for the manufacture of watches and clocks.
The city is along Interstate 84 (Yankee Expressway) and Route 8 and has a Metro-North railroad station with connections to Grand Central Terminal. Waterbury is also home to Post University and the regional campuses of the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport, Western Connecticut State University as well as Naugatuck Valley Community College.
Internet search engines and libraries | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:10 1 History
00:03:19 1.1 Early libraries
00:06:08 1.2 Classical period
00:17:26 1.3 Late Antiquity
00:24:27 1.4 Islamic lands
00:33:48 1.4.1 Islam
00:35:37 1.5 European Middle Ages
00:37:47 1.6 Renaissance
00:40:17 1.7 Enlightenment era libraries
00:42:56 1.7.1 Subscription libraries
00:46:21 1.7.2 Private subscription libraries
00:49:17 1.8 National libraries
00:52:38 1.9 Modern public library
00:58:35 1.9.1 Expansion
01:01:02 2 Types
01:01:55 2.1 Academic libraries
01:04:49 2.2 Children's libraries
01:06:11 2.3 National libraries
01:07:25 2.4 Public lending libraries
01:10:33 2.5 Reference libraries
01:11:29 2.6 Research libraries
01:13:15 2.7 Digital libraries
01:15:47 2.8 Special libraries
01:18:28 3 Organization
01:22:41 4 Buildings
01:24:02 5 Usage
01:27:14 5.1 Shift to digital libraries
01:30:28 5.2 The Internet
01:33:06 6 Associations
01:35:16 7 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9028229870696621
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-B
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
A library is a curated collection of sources of information and similar resources, selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical location or a virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, microform, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audiobooks, databases, and other formats. Libraries range widely in size up to millions of items. In Latin and Greek, the idea of a bookcase is represented by Bibliotheca and Bibliothēkē (Greek: βιβλιοθήκη): derivatives of these mean library in many modern languages, e.g. French bibliothèque.
The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing—the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC. Private or personal libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. In the 6th century, at the very close of the Classical period, the great libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople and Alexandria.
A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a corporation, or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to—or cannot afford to—purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs. Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they also often offer common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources and the Internet.
Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analyzing very large amounts of information with a variety of digital resources. Libraries are increasingly becoming community hubs where programs are delivered and people engage in lifelong learning. As community centers, libraries are also becoming increasingly important in helping communities mobilize and organize for their rights. The relationship between librarianship and human rights works to ensure that the rights of cultural minorities, immigrants, the homeless, the disabled, LGBTQ commu ...
Armenian Genocide | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Armenian Genocide
00:02:02 1 Terminology
00:06:55 2 Background
00:07:04 2.1 Armenians under Ottoman rule
00:10:42 2.2 Reform, 1840s–1880s
00:15:41 2.3 Armenian national liberation movement
00:16:43 2.4 Hamidian massacres, 1894–1896
00:19:16 3 Prelude to the Genocide
00:19:26 3.1 The Young Turk Revolution of 1908
00:21:07 3.2 The Adana massacre of 1909
00:22:08 3.3 Conflict in the Balkans and Russia
00:23:49 4 World War I
00:25:15 4.1 Labour battalions
00:26:46 4.2 Van, April 1915
00:28:45 4.3 Arrest and deportation of Armenian notables, April 1915
00:30:20 4.4 Deportations
00:32:30 4.4.1 Death marches
00:36:36 4.4.2 Concentration camps
00:38:31 4.5 The Special Organization
00:39:46 4.6 Massacres
00:39:55 4.6.1 Mass burnings
00:41:11 4.6.2 Drowning
00:42:48 4.6.3 Use of poison and drug overdoses
00:45:13 4.7 Confiscation of property
00:48:33 4.8 Trials
00:48:41 4.8.1 Turkish courts-martial
00:51:12 4.8.2 Detainees in Malta
00:53:29 4.8.3 Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian
00:54:27 4.9 International aid to victims
00:55:43 5 Armenian population, deaths, survivors, 1914 to 1923
00:58:33 6 Eyewitness accounts and reports
00:59:32 6.1 The U.S. Mission in the Ottoman Empire
01:01:25 6.1.1 Ambassador Morgenthau's Story
01:02:21 6.2 Allied forces in the Middle East
01:04:01 6.2.1 Arnold Toynbee: iThe Treatment of Armenians/i
01:05:06 6.3 Austrian and German joint mission
01:11:53 6.3.1 Armin T. Wegner
01:13:28 6.4 Ottoman Empire and Turkey
01:21:23 6.5 Russian military
01:22:10 6.6 Scandinavian missionaries and diplomats
01:27:11 6.7 Persia
01:28:27 7 Studies on the Genocide
01:31:38 8 Recognition of the Genocide
01:34:14 8.1 Republic of Turkey and the Genocide
01:38:01 8.1.1 Controversies
01:44:41 8.2 The Republic of Armenia and the Genocide
01:46:09 9 Cultural loss
01:48:02 10 Reparations to the victims
01:48:12 10.1 Reparations on the grounds of international law
01:50:51 10.2 Sèvres Treaty
01:51:33 10.3 Lawsuits
01:52:15 11 Commemoration
01:52:24 11.1 Memorials
01:54:14 11.2 Portrayal in the media
01:58:34 12 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Armenian Genocide (Armenian: Հայոց ցեղասպանություն, Hayots tseghaspanutyun), also known as the Armenian Holocaust, was the Ottoman government's systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens within the Ottoman Empire. The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the region of Ankara 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders, the majority of whom were eventually murdered. The genocide was carried out during and after World War I and implemented in two phases—the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian Desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre. Other ethnic groups were similarly targeted for extermination in the Assyrian genocide and the Greek genocide, and their treatment is considered by some historians to be part of the same genocidal policy. Most Armenian diaspora communities around the world came into being as a direct result of the genocide.Raphael Lemkin was moved specifically by the annihilation of the Armenians to define systematic and premeditated exterminations within legal parameters and coin the word genocide in 1943. The Armenian Genocide is acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, because scholars point to the organized manner in which the killings were carried out. It is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust.Turkey denies the word genocide is an accurate term for these crimes. In recent years, Turkey has been faced with repeated calls ...
Auburn Coach Wife Kristi Malzahn Agrees with Match & eHarmony: Men are Jerks
My advice is this: Settle! That's right. Don't worry about passion or intense connection. Don't nix a guy based on his annoying habit of yelling Bravo! in movie theaters. Overlook his halitosis or abysmal sense of aesthetics. Because if you want to have the infrastructure in place to have a family, settling is the way to go. Based on my observations, in fact, settling will probably make you happier in the long run, since many of those who marry with great expectations become more disillusioned with each passing year. (It's hard to maintain that level of zing when the conversation morphs into discussions about who's changing the diapers or balancing the checkbook.)
Obviously, I wasn't always an advocate of settling. In fact, it took not settling to make me realize that settling is the better option, and even though settling is a rampant phenomenon, talking about it in a positive light makes people profoundly uncomfortable. Whenever I make the case for settling, people look at me with creased brows of disapproval or frowns of disappointment, the way a child might look at an older sibling who just informed her that Jerry's Kids aren't going to walk, even if you send them money. It's not only politically incorrect to get behind settling, it's downright un-American. Our culture tells us to keep our eyes on the prize (while our mothers, who know better, tell us not to be so picky), and the theme of holding out for true love (whatever that is—look at the divorce rate) permeates our collective mentality.
Even situation comedies, starting in the 1970s with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and going all the way to Friends, feature endearing single women in the dating trenches, and there's supposed to be something romantic and even heroic about their search for true love. Of course, the crucial difference is that, whereas the earlier series begins after Mary has been jilted by her fiancé, the more modern-day Friends opens as Rachel Green leaves her nice-guy orthodontist fiancé at the altar simply because she isn't feeling it. But either way, in episode after episode, as both women continue to be unlucky in love, settling starts to look pretty darn appealing. Mary is supposed to be contentedly independent and fulfilled by her newsroom family, but in fact her life seems lonely. Are we to assume that at the end of the series, Mary, by then in her late 30s, found her soul mate after the lights in the newsroom went out and her work family was disbanded? If her experience was anything like mine or that of my single friends, it's unlikely.
And while Rachel and her supposed soul mate, Ross, finally get together (for the umpteenth time) in the finale of Friends, do we feel confident that she'll be happier with Ross than she would have been had she settled down with Barry, the orthodontist, 10 years earlier? She and Ross have passion but have never had long-term stability, and the fireworks she experiences with him but not with Barry might actually turn out to be a liability, given how many times their relationship has already gone up in flames. It's equally questionable whether Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, who cheated on her kindhearted and generous boyfriend, Aidan, only to end up with the more exciting but self-absorbed Mr. Big, will be better off in the framework of marriage and family. (Some time after the breakup, when Carrie ran into Aidan on the street, he was carrying his infant in a Baby Björn. Can anyone imagine Mr. Big walking around with a Björn?)