Image by Tutz Dias.

What’s the best way to pass on what you learned from more than a half century of left-wing doing, reading, writing, talking and thinking?

Write a book. This was especially obvious to a retired union-activist-journalist-novelist grandfather. So, I did. Started writing a book tentatively titled Economic Democracy or No Democracy — An Anti Oligarchy Manifesto.

But then I actually listened to my grandchildren and learned they don’t read much. Instead, their pipeline to understanding the world is social media, mostly memes and videos, few of which exceed five minutes of attention span. At first, I argued with them. “You should read. Much more. Opens your mind to places, experiences, ideas …”

They try to be polite to grandpa but there’s no mistaking the disinterest as cellphone-induced zombie (perhaps Zen-like?) eyes stare at a screen on the table instead of me.

How to respond? What to do? Decades of union organizing has taught me the importance of listening. Meeting people where they are at.........

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