Making Connections Across News Stories

Networking, Pixabay, CC0 Creative Commons

​It’s summertime here in the Northern hemisphere, so let’s have some fun.
 
At the family reunion, my grandson taught me a game new to me called Connections. One person names two things, seemingly unrelated, and the other person has to find a real connection from one thing to another to another to another until they find a genuine linked connection from the first item to the second. Sort of like Six Degrees of Separation but no required number and no Kevin Bacon involved
 
The two items can’t have an easy or obvious connection. His example was: you can't use stone and paint, because you can just paint a rock. 
 
But I could name rock and selfie, and then you could build a story about how prevalent rocks are at the ocean and how many selfies are taken at the ocean so that you’re likely to have a rock show up in many selfies.
 
I’m trying an adult (and maybe more discouraging) variation on the game. I’m intrigued by what connections pop up between news stories if I look. So in my version, name two items in the news and find a link from one to the other through other items in the news.
 
Let’s play the game.

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Two recent news headlines:
 
1. Kansas GOP candidate says there is 'only barbarism' outside of Western civilization

2. Immigrant children being held in fenced cages at border detention facilities

​I know, I know, one connection seems too easy. Which “civilization” is being barbaric here?
 
But remember, you can’t offer two things that connect too easily, so I’m going to go another route (even though I may end up with the same idea in the end. Because reality.)

Starting with barbarism outside of Western civilization--
 
1. Republican Kansas State Senator Steve Fitzgerald, who is running for Congress, gave a speech at a gathering of Republicans in Kansas, and he was quoted as saying:
 
“"Outside of Western civilization is only barbarism.” 
 
I kid you not. I’m embarrassed to be a (formerly proud) Kansan these days in many ways, but this one showed enough ignorance to put the cherry on top. Of course, there are ignorant people everywhere, but . . . 
 
OK, back to the connections game (think of each of the bullets in the list below as an arrow pointing to the next link):

​1. Kansas GOP candidate says there is 'only barbarism' outside of Western civilization

• “Outside of Western civilization” must include Eastern civilization
• Eastern civilization includes Thailand
• In Thailand, engineers, Thai Navy Seals, scientists, and many, many volunteers have gathered to rescue a group of Thai boys and their soccer coach who have been stranded in a cave with water rising around them and oxygen running out
• Those volunteers are demonstrating compassion and empathy, the scientists and engineers are demonstrating intelligence and education, the Seals and volunteer scuba divers are demonstrating bravery, none of which is barbarism
• The Thai boys are trapped in a cave with rocks as walls and water preventing their escape
• The immigrant children in Texas (a state in “Western civilization”) are trapped in a detention facility with fencing instead of rocks as walls and guards instead of water preventing their escape

 
2. Immigrant children being held in fenced cages at border detention facilities
 
Ta da!!

​What a proud moment to be able to demonstrate a link between the ignorance of a US politician and the community action of a group of volunteers who happen to be in Thailand, between the barbarism of administrative decisions about how to handle children at a US border and the determination to find a humane way to rescue another group of children.
 
As of this moment, rescuers have gotten 8 of the Thai boys out alive!
 
Meanwhile, the powers-that-be in the US have declared that they need more time to reunite detained children with their families.
 
You make the connection. If the Thai boys were at the Texas-Mexico border, they’d still be trapped.

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Here’s a connection challenge for you:
 
I’m copying below the top news stories at the moment (NOT about the Thai boys) from CNN and from FOX news. Let me know if you can see how to connect them:
 
1. CNN: Boris Johnson resigns in major Brexit blow to UK PM Theresa May 
​2. Fox News: Supreme Court battle lines drawn as conservative group launches ad backing Trump pick 

I don’t know, maybe those violate the rules about not making it too easy, but they are in fact the top stories on each of those sites, and I can imagine different ways to connect.
 
So have at it! Can you make the connection? Let me know if you do.
 
Got any connection challenges for me? It’s summertime, after all. Time for lightheartedness and play (and sad sarcasm)

GoodFreePhotos, children playing soccer, public domain