Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 27
May 14, 2020
Change looks good when you win
Are you tired of talking about the coronavirus? I am too. So, let’s talk about something else, the Los Angeles Rams’ new uniforms. As someone who will be in the market for a new Rams jersey now that I’ve lost all that weight, I have to decide whether this new design is something I should […]
May 2, 2020
Freedom, consequences, and responsibility
Health and safety shouldn’t be ideological issues. When my doctor told me I had to drop weight or risk cardiovascular troubles, I didn’t call him a fascist who was trying to take away my God-given right to have Starbucks Frappuccinos and Del Taco Epic Burritos. I joined WW and went to work. Yet, across the […]
April 26, 2020
Pandemic rudeness
It doesn’t matter how conditions change or what new technology enters our lives, people will always find ways to be rude. Same is true for a deadly global pandemic. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have protected us from the obnoxiousness of others, as well as a certain obnoxious virus. But when we have to put […]
April 17, 2020
Trust the experts
In every disaster movie, you’ll find the same group of characters. As soon as the disaster hits, there’s a preacher who proclaims, “There’s no need to fear! God will save us!” Instantly, he is gobbled up by the monster, sucked out the hole in the fuselage, falls through a collapsing floor into the flames below, […]
April 4, 2020
How to stay optimistic
The next few weeks will be rough. Our country will get a heartbreaking lesson in exponential growth. And as quarantines linger, more stores and restaurants close (and may never reopen), people continue to lose their jobs, and fear and uncertainty grow, it will be harder to see a sliver of a silver lining. How do […]
March 29, 2020
The birth of a crucial technology
Video conferencing has been crucial during the COVID-19 crisis. It has enabled us to conduct business meetings, teach lessons, and stay in touch with family and friends. At a time when we must be physically separated, video conferencing has helped us stay connected. It’s a technology with a long history, and it’s one that I […]
March 24, 2020
President Trump, King Canute, and the meaning of heroism
When I think about President Trump’s desire to “have the country opened up and raring to go by Easter,” I think about the legend of King Canute and the tide. The king’s courtiers tried to convince him that he was so powerful, he could command the tide to stop. When he showed that he couldn’t, […]
March 21, 2020
How are you doing?
Ten years ago, there was a TV show called “Apocalypse Man.” US Marine and martial artist Rudy Reyes showed how someone can survive an end-of-the-world scenario in an urban setting. He went through the usual survival stuff like siphoning gas into your car and starting a fire with steel wool and a battery. One part […]
March 18, 2020
How children see a crisis
The COVID-19 crisis has given my 6 1/2-year-old granddaughter a master class about hygiene. She is learning about the importance of hand washing, using a tissue or the crook of her elbow to cover up a sneeze or cough, and keeping surfaces clean. She made a plastic bottle of pretend hand sanitizer with the label […]
March 12, 2020
We will get through this together
I wash my hands. I use hand sanitizer. I keep my surfaces clean. I try not to touch my face (which isn’t easy when my beard gets long and itchy). We have enough food and supplies at home. I keep informed with valid sources. I read the emails that every company I’ve ever done business […]
