Josiah H. Brown

Practically Idealistic blog

The title for this blog originated with use of the term “practical idealist” in this 1996 opinion piece, which asked: “To what kind of work should a practical idealist aspire?” A century and a half earlier, Emerson, in his 1841 essay Circles, wrote: “There are degrees in idealism. We learn first to play with it academically. . . . Then we see in the heyday of youth and poetry that it may be true, that it is true in gleams and fragments. Then, its countenance waxes stern and grand, and we see that it must be true. It now shows itself ethical and practical.” John Dewey and Mahatma Gandhi embraced practical idealism in the 20th century, as did UN Secretary General U Thant. Al Gore invoked it in a 1998 speech. In the context of this blog, the term is meant to convey idealism tempered but not overwhelmed by realism: a search for the ideal on a path guided by common sense.

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Sunday, February 5, 2017

Refugees, Immigrants, History, and the Rule of Law

Last Sunday, January 29, my family participated in a vigil for refugees (and for immigrants, especially Muslims, more broadly).

Today, we joined a march on their behalf -- following a road race to benefit Integrated Refugees and Immigrant Services (IRIS) -- that culminated in a rally on the New Haven Green. There, speakers included several refugees (from Iraq, Syria, Sudan) as well as U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, Mayor Toni Harp, and State Senator Gary Winfield, as well as law students advocating for travelers’ and migrants’ legal rights.

Also today, a piece that I wrote -- providing historical context on an “Asiatic Barred Zone” a century ago -- was published at Connecticut Viewpoints, as well as via Medium.

3:07 pm est

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