No distraction from us today. For eligible US voters, please vote, as the future of the country and the world, the value of science, the value of expertise, and so much more are all on the ballot.

vote text with checkbox

And once you’ve finished voting (or if you’ve already voted early), be sure to cut yourself some slack for the evening (and possibly the coming weeks) as the votes are tallied. The pandemic has already raised all of our stress levels considerably. Self-care is more important than ever. You should not feel obligated to obsessively check Twitter or Facebook, no matter how compellingly addictive they’ve made their algorithms and features, nor do you need to listen to the talking heads of cable news repeat the same talking points over and over again. Stay as informed as you’re comfortable doing, but feel no shame in taking a mental health break.

No extra points are awarded for knowing something first. Take a walk, read a good book, watch a good movie, listen to something that moves you. The news will still be there when you’re ready to check back in.

We’ll return with regular posts tomorrow, assuming the country hasn’t turned into a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic wasteland. See you on the other side.

 

David Crotty

David Crotty

David Crotty is a Senior Consultant at Clarke & Esposito, a boutique management consulting firm focused on strategic issues related to professional and academic publishing and information services. Previously, David was the Editorial Director, Journals Policy for Oxford University Press. He oversaw journal policy across OUP’s journals program, drove technological innovation, and served as an information officer. David acquired and managed a suite of research society-owned journals with OUP, and before that was the Executive Editor for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, where he created and edited new science books and journals, along with serving as a journal Editor-in-Chief. He has served on the Board of Directors for the STM Association, the Society for Scholarly Publishing and CHOR, Inc., as well as The AAP-PSP Executive Council. David received his PhD in Genetics from Columbia University and did developmental neuroscience research at Caltech before moving from the bench to publishing.

Discussion

5 Thoughts on "VOTE!"

Appropriate post !!! But the last sentence sounds like ….Mad Max !!!! You may be voting for your president but the whole world is watching and the outcome will touch everybody.May peace and love prevail !!!!

I’ve deleted social media from my phone for the day. Last week I was on vacation and I’ve never been so happy to have an over-flowing email “in” box!

The arch of history bends toward justice, as Dr. King told us, but it’s a struggle. Think of John Lewis, RGB, Shirley Chisholm, and all those people famous and unknown who’ve devoted their lives to equality and justice. If they can keep fighting, no matter what, so can we. No matter the outcome today, I hope we’ve all learned that democracy is NOT a spectator sport.

It wasn’t MLK who coined the “arc [not arch] of history” quotation. It was a 19th century transcendentalist, Theodore Parker. I just snipped this from Wikipedia: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” The context was the inevitability of the abolition of slavery. Of course, good people quote good expressions. Parker also gave us this (also snipped from Wikipedia): “A democracy—of all the people, by all the people, for all the people,” which Lincoln appropriated in the Gettysburg Address.

Vote thinking that the future of poor countries and the Amazon depends on you and will thank you if the rotten orange loses

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