Are you still looking for some gifts for the knitters in your life? Here are some of the new books you might need to check out! (In no particular order.)

(And, please, if you’re thinking of buying any of these books, please consider using the links here at Knitting Scholar–I’ll get a couple dollars from Amazon.com to go toward the cost of this site. Hosting is expensive! My grateful thanks go with every order!)

Let’s revisit one of my favorite old posts, shall we? One that explores what is still my favorite analogy for Civility.

We’re All Traveling Together

I have a book called Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen L. Carter. It talks about the collapse of basic manners, how they have “become a casualty of our postmodern culture.” You already know that this is one of my favorite themes, and, in fact, I recommend this book quite a bit.

He opens the book with an analogy which has become a favorite of mine. About how, in the 19th century, people travelled in groups because only the very rich could afford to travel alone. He says,

“Well, of course: to travel so far together, packed shoulder to shoulder like chess pieces in their little box, everybody had to behave or the ride would become intolerable. Everyone followed the rules for the sake of their fellow passengers, and they did so, as one historian has noted, out of a spirit of self-denial and the self-sacrifice of one’s own comfort for another’s.”

There was, you understand, a sense of “we’re all in this together.” Everybody was crowded, everybody had to endure the same discomforts of travel, but everybody collectively gritted their teeth because that was the only way it was bearable, by working together to keep it as civilized as possible. He goes on to say,

“But nowadays we have automobiles, and we travel both long and short distances surrounded by metal and glass and the illusion that we are travelling alone. The illusion has seeped into every crevice of our public and private lives, persuading us that sacrifices are no longer necessary. If railroad passengers a century ago knew the journey would be impossible unless they considered the comfort of others more important than their own, our spreading illusion has taken us in the other direction. We care less and less about our fellow citizens, because we no longer see them as our fellow passengers. We see them as obstacles or competitors, or we may not see them at all.”

This is such a brilliant observation, don’t you think? How often have you walked down the street and seen other people listening to iPods, talking on cellphones, completely caught up in their own, private worlds? I often count myself lucky if they’re paying enough attention not to walk into me as they wander along. People go shopping in their pajamas; they think nothing of cutting in line. They meander across parking lots, never glancing over their shoulders to see if there’s a car coming. Because, of course, the world revolves around them. Not only are they not travelling with the rest of us, they’re riding a float in their own little parade, condescendingly waving to the crowd.

Not everyone does this, naturally. (I’m sure you don’t.) Most of the people I know have, at some time or another, shaken their heads when witnessing behaviors such as these, just because they’re not normal behaviors. In fact, many people do check for cars before stepping into a roadway, or thoughtfully hold doors for other people. It’s just the fact that these annoying, selfish behaviors seem to become more common all the time that’s so worrying.

Because, really, we ARE all travelling through this life together. Don’t we owe it to our fellow passengers to make the ride as easy as possible? ride as easy as possible?

I think we can all agree that the political climate has been … volatile … of late.

It seems like everybody is so entrenched in their own side of [every possible] argument, that we’re forgetting that, no matter the party, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income level, citizenship status … all of that … we are all Americans* for a reason.

We have more that pulls us together than pulls us apart, so long as we don’t let the little differences drive big wedges. If you need to borrow a cup of sugar from a neighbor, does it really matter how they voted in the last election? When your kid’s school hosts a charity car wash, do you exclude cars with bumper stickers you don’t like? Or do you welcome them to get soaped up with everyone else? For the most part, all of us are just trying to live our lives and raise our families to be good and kind.

None of us needs the constant stream of hate that’s taken over the airwaves. Words matter. Words can hurt.

But words are also the most powerful tool in the world, when used correctly.

Independence Day is coming up fast, and it’s important to remember what that means–and what better way than to listen to the words of our founding fathers?

Penguin Random House Audio is joining with award-winning authors and like-minded partner organizations, including PEN America and the National Coalition Against Censorship, to stream audio recordings of both the U.S. Constitution, narrated by Boyd Gaines, and the Declaration of Independence, narrated by Frank Langella, under the banner “We the People Listen.”

“For many of us, it’s been years, if at all, since we’ve read the Constitution or the Declaration,” says Amanda D’Acierno, SVP and Publisher, Penguin Random House Audio. “Taking a little time this early summer to listen to these talented narrators bring the text alive is something we all need to do as we celebrate Independence Day this year.”

Listeners can stream the recording of both the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence until July 31 at www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/wethepeoplelisten.

If you’ve forgotten:

About the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 as an act of rebellion, the Declaration of Independence powerfully expresses the political principles of an emerging nation. As justification for severing ties with England, the Declaration of Independence presented a list of grievances against the King and declared the colonies to be sovereign states.

About the U.S. Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.…

Ratified in 1788, the U.S. Constitution remains a shining example of patriotism and compromise. In outlining the power of the three branches of government and establishing the rights of all Americans, the Constitution united the thirteen independent states and set forth the official viewpoint of a newly unified nation. Its most significant and insightful feature is that it can always be amended.

*And for those of you who are not in the U.S. of A, these words are just as wise, no matter where you live.

When I started this blog almost ten years ago, I said:

Punctuality is not just about making meetings on time, but about being exact. It’s about doing what needs to be done at exactly the time it should be done. To me, that’s an issue that transcends mere punctuation. That ripples right out into the real world. Doing what is right, and doing it precisely. When you have everybody doing exactly that, well, it seems to me that that’s more or less the foundation of basic civility . . . and civilization itself.”

I also said that you need to know the rules, to break the rules.

My country was founded on that tough, make-do attitude of making the most out of what you had. We prided ourselves on our self-reliance and our ability to think outside the box and create things for ourselves rather than depending on other people. Our innovation was legendary.

Now, I don’t want to get into a debate right now about how we’re raising a generation of children whose research capabilities end at opening an app on their smart phones, but let’s think about how important it is to know things.

I said right at the beginning that this blog was going to be about the tools we need for civilization, and knowing the rules was right at the top of the list.

To be creative, you need to know certain rules. (How not to blow yourself up, for example.) To be able to think outside the box, you need first identify and measure your box.

Nobody can be creative or innovative without having a fundamental understanding of how the world works.

Understanding things like gravity, physics, and math that describe the physical world. Rhetoric, languages and grammar for communicating–not to mention art and music for things worth communicating.

• It’s never been more important to be informed.
• It’s never been more vital that you know the rules.
• It’s never been more necessary to stand up for what you know to be right.

I like rules. I like having boundaries and understanding how and why things work. I like having the basic tools necessary to know that if I perform Action A, the result will be B.

But I also like having the freedom to say, “But what if I try C? What will happen.”

You can’t innovate if you don’t know what people have done before you.

You can’t create unless you know what other people have created. In fact, there’s a philosophical question for you: if two people independently create the same thing at the same time, do they both count?

The answer is yes, but the one who has the press conference to announce it to the world gets top billing.

So, don’t be shy, now.

Learn everything you can so you can create, innovate, and know exactly which rules are meant to be bent … and which ones deserve to be broken.

Isn’t that what education is for?

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I did one of these posts! But since summer is just about over and Fall and Winter are coming … now seems a good time to point out some great recent and upcoming books that I haven’t had a chance to review. (Note that this list is in no way meant to be complete. There are LOTS of great, new books out there!)

The Complete Surprise

CowlGirls 2

Cozy Stash-Busting Knits

Curls 2

Drop-Dead Easy Knits

Easy Fair Isle Knitting

I Dream of Yarn

Jorid Linvik’s Big Book of Knitted Mittens

Knit: Wrapped Up in a Winter Romance

Knit a Square

Knitlandia

Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook

Knitter’s Know-How

The Knitting All-Around Stitch Dictionary

Knitting Ephemera

Knitting From the North

Knitting Short Rows

Modern Knits from Sweden

Self-Striping Yarn Studio

Texture

Urban Knit Collection

Yarnitecture

You Can Knit That

(And, please, if you’re thinking of buying any of these books, please consider using the links here at Knitting Scholar–I’ll get a couple dollars from Amazon.com to go toward the cost of this site. Hosting is expensive! My grateful thanks go with every order!)