Words from a poet on weathering hard times

+ Taliban control of US biometric data; fake vaccine cards cause legal woes US Edition - Today's top story: 'Work with hope' – a poet and classics scholar on facing the flood of bad news [View in browser]( US Edition | 2 September 2021 [The Conversation]( I planned to write this week’s politics newsletter about our strong Afghanistan coverage over the past week. But last night was filled with howling wind and rain. This morning brought countless images of flooding and destruction from Maryland to Massachusetts, including tornado damage in New Jersey. The early part of the week was filled with dispatches from Louisiana’s lowlands, awash in stormwaters. I felt so swamped by bad news by the time I got up this morning, I wondered, what’s next? Locusts? So instead, I bring you balm from poet, teacher and essayist Rachel Hadas, whose story “[‘Work with hope’ – a poet and classics scholar on facing the flood of bad news,](” was published today. A lyrical observer of daily life whose poetry has been featured in the New Yorker, Hadas has an ability to make texts – from Homer to Emily Dickinson to modern poets and philosophers – come alive for today’s readers. But while recognizing their contemporary significance, she also helps us see how our feelings and thoughts about what seem like our own era’s peculiar – and terrible – problems are as old as the ages. There’s comfort in that: “We’re in a prolonged period of maddeningly, scarily bad news – and if we follow the 24-hour news cycle, we’re in it up to our chins,” Hadas writes. “But how good has the news ever been? Precisely when or what was the Golden Age? Poet Randall Jarrell wrote, with tongue in cheek, that it’s when people went around complaining how yellow everything looked. Even under dire conditions, most people go on doing what they do for as long as they can.” Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society What, more depressing news? Rolling Camera/ iStock / Getty Images Plus [‘Work with hope’ – a poet and classics scholar on facing the flood of bad news]( Rachel Hadas, Rutgers University - Newark Rachel Hadas says that despite the cascade of scary news, humans will adapt, as they always have – and provides evidence of that resilience in the literature she loves and teaches. A nurse displays a real COVID-19 vaccination card. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle [Is it a crime to forge a vaccine card? And what’s the penalty for using a fake?]( Christopher Robertson, Boston University; Wesley Oliver, Duquesne University People who forge their own vaccine cards, or buy forged cards, are already facing legal problems, including criminal charges. Evictions continued despite the ban imposed during the pandemic. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images [Even with the eviction moratorium, landlords continued to find ways to kick renters out]( Matthew Fowle, University of Washington; Rachel Fyall, University of Washington ‘Informal evictions’ in which landlords harass or pressure tenants out of their homes continued during the the pandemic and may have even seen an increase. - [When human life begins is a question of politics – not biology]( Sahotra Sarkar, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts Some people seeking to influence public opinion about abortion rights claim the science is clear. It’s not, and that means abortion remains a political question – not a biological one. - [Feds are increasing use of facial recognition systems – despite calls for a moratorium]( James Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Politicians of all stripes, computer professionals and even big-tech executives are calling on government to hit the brakes on using these algorithms. The feds are hitting the gas. - [What is Sharia? Islamic law shows Muslims how to live, and can be a force for progress as well as tool of fundamentalists]( Kalpana Jain, The Conversation Day 6 of our Understanding Islam series. Sharia constitutes a broad set of rules that guide Muslims on how to lead an ethical life. The way Sharia is interpreted depends on who is using it and why. - [Afghanistan has vast mineral wealth but faces steep challenges to tap it]( Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington Afghanistan has vast mineral resources that have long attracted interest from outside countries, but a lack of infrastructure and political instability means they’re unlikely to aid its economy now. - [The Taliban reportedly have control of US biometric devices – a lesson in life-and-death consequences of data privacy]( Margaret Hu, Penn State The potential failure of the U.S. military to protect information that can identify Afghan citizens raises questions about whether and how biometric data should be collected in war zones. - [State efforts to ban mask mandates in schools mirror resistance to integration]( Dustin Hornbeck, University of Texas Arlington Fighting against federal authority is a political tradition in the South – and resisting federal guidance to wear masks in schools is just the latest example, an education policy expert writes. 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