Weekend edition—Why identity sows conflict, loving your job, pet pampering

[Quartz Daily Brief]( Good morning, Quartz readers! The US celebrated the 242nd anniversary of its independence this week, roiled by fallout from the Trump administration’s[family-separations policy]( at the same time it considers long-simmering questions over addressing [its racial history]( and confronts the world with an [isolationist trade policy](. At heart of the debate is the question of identity—of us and them. Why is identity so often a source of conflict? Jelani Cobb, a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a staff writer for the New Yorker, suggests the answer goes all the way back to founding of the republic. “The question of ‘We, the people’ has been our ongoing and unresolved conflict in American identity,” Cobb said at a Chautauqua Institute talk in upstate New York. “We’ve never sufficiently understood and defined who is included in that term.” Ever since Thomas Jefferson’s passage[famously decrying]( the transatlantic slave trade in the Declaration of Independence was cut, American democracy has been characterized by a boom-and-bust cycle, Cobb said. “An expanding concept of ‘we,’” followed by “a contracting, fearful idea of who ‘we’ should be.” Identity politics—and a cycle of progress, followed by backlash— have shaped the course of history. The Civil War was followed by Reconstruction—in which[more than 2,000 African-Americans]( were elected to political office—which was followed by the repressive Jim Crow era. The US has vacillated between[opening its borders]( to immigrants and lashing out against them, from an[1882 law]( that forbade Chinese immigrants from entering to turning away[boats filled with Jewish refugees]( during World War II. And the past 10 years have seen both the election of the first black US president and the ensuing rise of political movements centered on the idea that the white identity is under threat. “Why is identity so frequently a cause of conflict?” Cobb asked. “The most safe answer I can give is that we have yet to triumph over the most narrow sense, the most zero-sum understanding of who we are. We have yet to permanently enshrine a concept of democracy that sees itself as enriched by the presence and success of others.” It’s a diagnosis familiar across the world. This week alone, news outlets reported on Denmark’s severe[new measures]( cracking down on “ghettos” populated by Muslim immigrants, while Theresa May is fighting with [her own ministers of just how European Britain should be]( after Brexit. Europe itself stands totally divided over immigration. [The German government almost fell]( over the issue, while Italy and Austria embrace an ever-narrower conception of what it means to be Italian or Austrian. If Cobb is right, one lesson is that while we’re going through a period of bust at the moment, we should look forward to a period of boom—an “expanding” of the concept of “we.” How soon that will happen is anyone’s guess.—Sarah Todd Five things on Quartz we especially liked Anyone can love their job. Many employees fantasize about retirement and complain that their days are full of meaningless busywork. Ephrat Livni [draws from her personal record]( of diverse work experiences (and occasional joblessness) to emphatically reject this notion, arguing that even occupations without obvious external impact can have a big effect on individuals. Seeing the US through foreign eyes. In 1949, a 22-year-old Indian boy arrived in the US and proceeded to have a hamburger. His guilt is just [one of the culture shocks and alien moments]( a project that collects stories of people immigrating to the US, which Maria Thomas recounts here. Africa needs a sweeter tooth. Europe dominates the chocolate market, yet Africa produces the vast majority of the treat’s base ingredient, cocoa. Yinka Adegoke frames this oddity [as a growth opportunity](. The existing conditions are primed to create producers and launch a lucrative local industry. African consumers just need to acquire a taste for chocolate first. The Hilton is post-war propaganda. The US prides itself on having not undertaken nationalistic publicity campaigns during the Cold War. However, Rosie Spinks observes that [Conrad Hilton’s global hospitality empire]( which occasionally received government funding via the Marshall Plan, created physical icons of Americanism worldwide and served as the ultimate promotion of capitalism. What suffragette posters can teach us today. In 1920, Tennessee became the center of the women’s voting-rights debate. Yet men’s political monopoly meant women, suffragists and anti-suffragists alike, could only support their sides through posters. Leah Fessler examines one of these artifacts, finding that a century later its sentiments [are still all too familiar](. Five things elsewhere that made us smarter Flake on that party, take up golf. GQ’s Zach Baron writes on coming to accept being “washed,” i.e. the [sleepier, lamer, older version of yourself](. You won’t earn social-media bonus points, but you might just keep your sanity. The fight for Alaska’s wilderness. A legal battle is brewing over a 19.3-million-acre Arctic sanctuary rich in both biodiversity and oil. Written by Joel K. Bourne Jr., and featuring Florian Schulz’s stunning photography, National Geographic studies the Last Frontier’s difficult choice to either defend its wilderness or [accept desperately needed funding](. Computer’s thoughts are beyond us. We know that artificial intelligence can identify objects, translate between any languages, and master games like chess and go. But we don’t know how it does it. [Writing for Harper’s]( (paywall), James Bridle contemplates what happens when a machine grows beyond its creator’s understanding. (Hint: It’s probably not good.) This article explains nothing. In Vox, Brian Resnick calculates the importance of the number zero. The digit might seem mundane now, but for much of history a figure that signified nothingness was inconceivable. Our ability to understand zero [is rooted in ancient evolution]( and our recent realization of the symbol made arithmetic easier and calculus possible. Pet pampering runs amok. Last year, Americans spent $69.5 billion on their pets. Peter Haldeman of the New York Times hilariously [tracks how such a feat was accomplished]( (paywall). From silicone testicle implants to designer drugs and “pawdicures,” owners spare no expense when it comes to their furry friends. Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, silicone testicles, and ancient suffragette posters to hi@qz.com. You can follow us [on Twitter here]( for updates throughout the day, or download [our apps for iPhone]( and [Android](. Today’s Weekend Brief was also written by David Wexner and edited by Kabir Chibber. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! 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