Good Tuesday morning. After over a year and forty-one editions, Parks and Wreck will be on an extended, undetermined hiatus. Like many of you, I look forward to spending time with family and friends again during this reunion summer. And frankly, I’m prioritizing my own mental health by striving to be less connected to devices, traumas, and the constant news cycle. As a doctoral student who is working full-time, I need to rest. I’m honestly not sure about the future of the newsletter (I welcome ideas!), but I will update you down the road. In the meantime, I invite you to scroll through the archive of previous editions, which form a living history of this period. I wish each of you a safe and restorative summer. Thanks for reading!
“A SUMMER SLOWDOWN”
I’m Not Scared to Reenter Society. I’m Just Not Sure I Want To. (Atlantic)
Quarantine has given us all time and solitude to think—a risk for any individual, and a threat to any status quo. People have gotten to have the experience—some of them for the first time in their life—of being left alone, a luxury usually unavailable even to the wealthy. Relieved of the deforming crush of financial fear, and of the world’s battering demands and expectations, people’s personalities have started to assume their true shape. And a lot of them don’t want to return to wasting their days in purgatorial commutes, to the fluorescent lights and dress codes and middle-school politics of the office. Service personnel are apparently ungrateful for the opportunity to get paid not enough to live on by employers who have demonstrated they don’t care whether their workers live or die.
The Pandemic's Trauma Won't Just Go Away (Atlantic)
“If you’ve been swimming furiously for a year, you don’t expect to finally reach dry land and feel like you’re drowning.” Millions have endured a year of grief, anxiety, isolation, and rolling trauma. Some will recover uneventfully, but for others, the quiet moments after adrenaline fades and normalcy resumes may be unexpectedly punishing. When they finally get a chance to exhale, their breaths may emerge as sighs. “As hard as the initial trauma is,” she said, “it’s the aftermath that destroys people.”
But we don’t need normal. We need a true summer summer slowdown — and employers ought to facilitate it. It's Time For A Summer Slowdown (Galaxy Brain)
What If Remote Work Didn’t Mean Working From Home (New Yorker)
The Zoomocracy required us to wait our turns to speak. We were forced to be polite and observant. I already miss the freedom of Zoom (NBCNews)
Coming out of the “most online period in history”: As Life Returns to Normal, a Great Offlining May Begin (Atlantic)
People Are Ready to Log Off Social Media For Good (Buzzfeed)
The Pandemic Has Changed How We Think About Fashion (Buzzfeed)
AMPLIFYING VOICES
A 3-D model of Black Wall Street: What the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed (NYT)
Two incisive reflections from Jelani Cobb: The Republican Party, Racial Hypocrisy, and the 1619 Project (New Yorker) and George Floyd, the Tulsa Massacre, and Memorial Days (New Yorker)
Remembering George Floyd: How Protest Plywood Became Art (NYT)
12 Great Books That Reimagine Masculinity (Buzzfeed)
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Campus Cancel Culture Freakouts Obscure the Power of University Boards (Teen Vogue)
For Colleges, Vaccine Mandates Often Depend on Which Party Is in Power (NYT)
The Future of Virus Tracking Can Be Found on This College Campus (NYT)
When did we all start believing that this process was a test of a teenager’s character? The College Admissions Crucible (New Yorker)
INTERESTING THREAD
WELLNESS
Burnout: Modern Affliction or Human Condition? (New Yorker)
Researchers Worry Facebook Is Muddying Platform's Link To Depression (NPR)
SUMMER READING LISTS
What to Read This Summer: 'Cultish,' 'With Teeth,' and More (Atlantic)
Best Books of Summer 2021 (Time)
Summer books list 2021: Beach reads, park reads and more (WaPo)
Until next time, be strong and be well.