The items for the first blog of 2018: Optimist, 31 December; the royal interview; an educated America?; full circle on Korea; who's old?;

The Optimist. 17 good stories from 2017. 

Prince Harry and Barack. It was far from your usual situation. A sit-down, back-and-forth, mutual interview between a prince (Harry) and a former president (Barack Obama) on Today, the BBC's Radio 4's flagship program. As noted by The Hill and NY Times and the Guardian. Who you are/were puts you in the spotlight and people take note.
     One of  their shared concerns seemed to be an “ 'obsession' in empowering a new generation of young civic leaders worldwide." A group, of which Obama said: “This generation is the most sophisticated, the most tolerant in many ways, the most embracing of diversity, the most tech-savvy, the most entrepreneurial, but they do not have much faith in existing institutions.” To which one can rightfully say "Amen," especially looking at the aging (disconnected?) leaders of America's Democratic and Republican parties. Of the top 4 congressional leaders only one, House Speaker, Paul Ryan (R) is less than 50 (at 47); the others, McConnell (R), 75; Pelosi (D) 77; Schumer (D) 67.

Colleges as whipping boys. Catherine Rampbell writes about "Why do so many Republicans hate college?" Does a Republican prove her/his conservative bonafides by repeatedly cutting their state's funding for colleges? She notes that "[AZ] Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently sued the board of regents of Arizona’s public universities, which under state law is technically his client. Brnovich complains that tuition is too high to meet the state’s constitutional requirement that colleges be 'as nearly free as possible.' The suit unfortunately leaves out the fact that Arizona has cut state funding per student by 41 percent  since 2008, second only to Louisiana [down 43%] in higher-ed disinvestment." If President Trump truly wants to make America great again, he will have to have a long, undoubtedly contentious, sit down with state legislators.

Korea, again. Last Saturday, Colbert King,  Washington Post columnist wrote about visiting his local D.C. library in 1949 and its role in awakening his understanding of the world beyond. He quoted a fellow 4th grader about the sheer joy of the place. He also remembered that when he visited in 1949, America was in that too brief interlude between wars. They remembered WW II and were soon to reading about Korea. He notes sadly that Korea is once again in the news, even more sinister this second time around.
     I, too, remember June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded the South. I was "at work" with my father at the local newspaper. The morning edition's headline announced that the Korean War had begun. My did and I delivered newspapers together. How could a war have begun without my knowing that trouble was brewing? That morning I became a student of history.

Old, really? Stanford professor Laura L. Carstensen writes presciently about how the old are referred to.
     "As long as we are healthy and engaged in life — as most people in their 60s, 70s and older are — we don’t view ourselves as old. But by using 'they' rather than 'we' in our minds and our conversations, we keep an entire stage of life at arm’s length. By failing to identify with “old,” the story about old people remains a dreary one about loss and decline...Language matters: We need a term that aging people can embrace."
     In the 1970s, Maggie Kuhn, co-founder of the Gray Panthers, hinted that she's been incorrectly introduced. She said, “Two things: I am not young, and I’m no lady. I am an old woman. And the fact that you cannot call me what I am without insulting me illustrates the depth of the problem we face.” 

      Does "old" work for you?

Thank you for reading. I hope your New Year begins well.