A bunch of candidate forums, an Hispanic Heritage Month celebration and reading and listening suggestions

Posted By: David Fortier October 8, 2023

By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, we will have had a week of candidate forums which allow voters to familiarize themselves with the candidates and some of their positions, as well as how they comport themselves. 

The forums are great, if you can attend. Not everyone can, so we have TBE to provide a snapshot, or news report. Newspapers are an alternative to social media, of course. Our advantage is that, as a news operation, our reports allow a person to step back, catch their breath, absorb information and then figure out where they stand before entering a conversation. With social media it is all reaction and volatility.

That is what we attempt to do here at TBE—provide reports, in our journalism, so that people have some concrete information from which to draw conclusions.

As for the forums, there were three—the NAACP candidate forum on Tuesday evening; on Wednesday candidates met for a meet and greet at the Bristol Senior Center; and on Thursday, something new, WTIC broadcast the closest thing to a debate from The Parkside Cafe. We have several reports on the NAACP forum. We aim to present reports on the meet and greet at the senior center and WTIC program soon. 

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On the schedule for today is the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration beginning at 1 p.m. at Rockwell amphitheater. Music is provided free and there will be food trucks and more.  

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Reading and listening this week—In the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes a column, titled “Why Unions Are Good For America,” that appeared in last Sunday’s edition. Here is one of those opportunities to sit down and read a short essay that presents both the pros and cons of unions and, yet, comes down on the side that as a country, people are better off with them without them. 

By providing the conclusion, I don’t intend to be a spoiler. If you know the conclusion, you might read with more discrimination, listening to the inner voice as it plays in your head, letting the argument work itself out.  

Listening this week includes two suggestions. The first in the Hidden Brain podcast episode, “Escaping Perfectionism.” As a professed perfectionist, yes, I know it doesn’t appear that way from the way I dress or generally appear, I would be the first to admit that there is a very dark side to this inclination. Psychologist Thomas Curran, who is interviewed by host Shankar Vedantam, provides relief for the condition and ways to strive for excellence in much healthier ways. Click here. 

For listeners who would like to take on a more involved discussion, one is over three hours, there is the interview with math professor Edward Frenkel on Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal podcast. Frenkel has become a favorite, after reading his book, “Love and Math.”  

It’s not an easy listen, and I don’t pretend that I understand everything he is talking about, but there are segments that are riveting, especially when he discusses his treatment as a Jew by the Russian government and how it ends up playing out psychologically through his work and his writing. Click here for the episode. 

“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org. 

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