not radical

What's the difference between things liberal and things radical? Notice I'm using the L word and the R word as adjectives; it's hard to do away with nouns altogether. If it's possible to avoid the derogatory or laudatory sense, I think it's more than a difference of degree. It has something to do with whether we resist things like war, cruelty, lies, and greed, or just oppose them. My friend Tom didn't just oppose the draft, he resisted it and paid the consequences. Anybody can oppose bad stuff, and most of us do, most of the time, because it's so easy. Do I resist the Patriot Act, for example, or just oppose it?

This is all nicely theoretical. But as I wrapped up a short work-week and prepared for a couple of paid holidays at home with my family, I am looking forward to celebrating with plenty of food and drink and conversation at leisure. Repeat: paid, home, plenty, leisure. I'm not feeling guilty for these pleasures; life is sweet, so why not enjoy and indulge? But other than my daily struggle to build a better paragraph, and thus make the world safe for social studies, I'm not doing anything to right any wrongs.

Okay, that was last week. After retreating to hearth and home, I got a call Thursday afternoon from the son on the road in central Pennsylvania. Long story short, we met at the Greyhound station in Pittsburgh and talked all the way home about his adventures in NYC - bicycles, wiring, neighborhoods. Friday, joined by the daughter home from school, we picked up where we left off - grammar, dialects, hierarchies. Then, at Stauf's after seeing "I (heart) Huckabess," the wife who worries joined the conversation. There is much to agree and disagree about, much to be concerned about, much to vent and process.

All of this, including Abe's radical education, Zoe's art education, Gwen's experiential education, is part of my extended liberal education, learning things not originally in the curriculum.

To be continued.