A time (and place) to chill
My kids got me addicted to the hiphop musical Hamilton, a biography of U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton. His often-contentious personal and political life ended prematurely— spoiler alert—in a predawn duel with rival Aaron Burr (sir). When I first listened to the cast recording, I found myself surprised, and oddly comforted, that the political climate then wasn’t that different from today, 213 years after Hamilton’s death. Again, nerves seem to be close to the surface, and the tension spills over into everyday life. An advertiser runs the same “buy American-made” message they’ve run without complaint for years, and I get emails from offended Canadians. Even the apolitical posts on our woodworking-exclusive Facebook page sometimes draw disproportionate ire. We’re so blessed as woodworkers to have a hobby into which we can escape from…
