This is TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read) Tuesdays.  I summarize and discuss two articles — one from a blogger, and from one a “traditional news” source.  I also provide links to two other blog posts you should read on your own, with a goal to feature bloggers that have popped up on here before and/or that I read on my own.

This concept is inspired by my father, who sends everyone in the family articles links by email, by my older brother, who sends articles so long I never read them, and my wife, who became tired of me sending her articles, and has been telling me “TL;DR” for years.

I write these 1-4x/month. Click here to read all of them over time.

2 Things For You To Read:

#1: The parents at Frugan Asian Finance discuss The Benefits & Challenges of Raising Multilingual Children

#2: The Hidden Costs of Living in the Country Side from Lee at Homely Economics

2 Things I Read For You

#1

Source: Retire By 40

Title: Why The Pursuit of Happiness is Misguided

Summary: Don’t aim for happiness, aim for contentment.  Happiness is both nebulous and when achieved difficult to sustain, as it’s often predicated on stage of life and confluence of circumstances.  Contentment is a high-quality state-of-being that can be achieved and maintained for long periods, while also putting you in position for moments of happiness.

Conclusion: I think the author has a point.  It’s part of why the generic “chase your dreams” graduation speech is somewhat useless.  We should pursue things for which we have passion, but dreams evolve and being able to enjoy the current state is as important as pursuing some nebulous future state that does not exist.  A perpetual pursuit of happiness may lead to a continual feeling of discontent.

Read This Also: Do I Feel Bad About Being a Stay-At-Home-Dad?

#2

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Title: From Parkland to Waffle House

Summary: During the recent deadly shooting at a Waffle House, James Shaw “pushed back.” Unarmed, he physically confronted the attacker, disarming him and scaring him away. He likely saved many lives. Mr. Shaw said he wasn’t a hero — he just didn’t want to die and saw an opportunity to stay alive.  Schools around the country are “warning” parents against threatening speech in school, including quick and severe consequences for discussions of violence.  A big change from the accommodating nature schools had adopted, letting kids get away with things.

Conclusion: This is an opinion piece from the WSJ.  I read it regularly because their “news” is often reported in a way that diverges from my mindset, and the opinion pieces/editorials are FAR off of mine.  I like the exposure to contrary views as it challenges me.

This one appears to be largely a bunch of b.s.  In fact, suspensions, expulsions, and similar severe consequences have become the norm in MANY schools that routinely have fights or threats of violence.  It has become so extreme that things have started shifting back the other way, with most schools being accused of being to quick to give harsh punishments to students who may be at-risk for bad behavior.  Once kicked out of school, with no support and little guidance, their academics and behavior often deteriorate.  I agree — bullying, violence, and the threats of violence need to be taken seriously by all schools.  I disagree that schools are not doing anything about it.  The bigger issue is the lack of knowledge and research on what is really the best approach, and in many places, the lack of resources to provide the optimal care.  The connection of the Waffle House hero saving lives to blaming schools for school shootings is a stretch at best, and this author does little to actually make this a believable connection.

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