The following podcast is part 4 of a series on the author’s reactions to the Fall of Kabul. If you appreciate the content, consider sharing. I’ve been doing my best to take the time to reach out to friends who sacrificed a portion of themselves to the war. Three days ago, I spoke with a … Continue reading Fall of Kabul Journal #4 – Watches and Time
history
On Art
We are not animals. We are conscious, and we live through beauty, literature and art. We are inspired by concepts bigger than ourselves and we strive for ideals.
Honorable Exile
In November 2008, Barack Obama, a junior senator from Illinois, was elected President of the United States. On January 20th, 2009, George W. Bush stepped down as the 43rd President and retreated to the quiet of West Texas. He managed to stay out of the public eye, and spent much of his time on charities for wounded veterans, relaxing with his family, or on the golf course. As tempting as it may have been, he refrained from weighing in on the impassioned public debates as they unfolded across his television over the next 8 years: hot-button issues such as universal healthcare, closing Guantanamo, the Iranian nuclear program, and climate change.
On Hate Speech
Richard Spencer, the identitarian responsible for coining the term Alt-Right and often miscategorized as a Nazi, is not stupid. He is actually anything but. His writing and speeches lay out an intellectual, yet superficial and flawed case for his worldview that has pulled the wool over the eyes of many able-bodied young males, as evidenced by Charlottesville. He does not condone violence, but rather, wants to achieve his objectives through open discourse. Punching him in the face only makes him look more reasonable. It only lends support to the idea that he cannot be challenged intellectually, thus building his following. As much as people want to conflate their Antifa water balloon street brawl with the allies storming Normandy, it just isn't accurate.
Karl Marlantes on Heroism
The word "hero" has taken on a much broader definition in recent years, diminishing the meaning for all. You served on a FOB in the Air Force? You're a hero. You worked as an admin clerk? You're a hero. The lines of what actually makes a hero are so blurred, that almost anything qualifies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvzpxW8mvrw
The Destruction of the Sacred
"Nothing is Sacred," says Man. "Nothing is sacred save SCIENCE!" "We've christened Science, Omni-Science. All-knowing. Infallible. And incompatible with Religion. With ritual. With tradition. And so we've cast religion out. We've burned our Holy Books. We've made our devout, the heretics, and our heretics, the devout. We've erased the divine standard of morality. Man gives law unto … Continue reading The Destruction of the Sacred
The Course of an Empire: The Arcadian or Pastoral State
Thomas Cole. Oil on canvas, 1834, 39 ½ x 63 ½ in. Collection of The New-York Historical Society, 1858.2. The day is further along than in "Savage State". Clouds dance slowly around the mountains. A small village has been established near the bay. Nature and humanity are in harmony. Peasants engage in simple pleasures. From … Continue reading The Course of an Empire: The Arcadian or Pastoral State