Too many are talking about rebellion as if it were exclusively a political act. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rebellion may end in arms, but it begins in the mind: When the liberal arts seemed destined for shipwreck, three men stood up and decided to do something radical at a state …
Category: culture
Nov 18 2022
Depressing Truths Dept.
Shamelessly stolen from Mike Miles: Seldom have so few words expressed so much truth. (Yes, it’s happened; “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” for one. I said “seldom,” not “never.”) For maximum impact, answer this question: Who is having babies today, and where? Yes, I’m in one of those …
Oct 11 2022
Impassioned And Accurate
With a small number of exceptions, I find the fictions of John C. Wright not to my taste. However, as a general commentator, the man ranks with the best. Yesterday, he let fly with a jeremiad that Jeremiah would have envied. Have a brief taste: All of our current society, as embodied in …
Sep 27 2022
Some Understand…
And some refuse to: Nothing grows without roots. Giorgia Meloni understands. Donald Trump does, too. Do you?
Aug 26 2022
A Deficit Of Rationality
A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “That fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” — Stephen Crane — I’m in one of those moods this morning. I could slather you with the reasons, but as I’m also feeling charitable, I’ll spare …
Aug 21 2022
Strokes
I’d intended to write a Jeremiad about this bit of viciousness — thank you, John Hinderaker, for bringing that to my attention — but I’m just recently back from Sunday Mass, and events, or perhaps non-events, have pointed me in another direction for today’s tirade. You’re unlikely to read anything else today like …
Aug 08 2022
We Have A Winner In The Ultimate Obscenity Contest
And it’s Walt Disney Corporation: Walt Disney has been cancelled by Walt Disney. Here’s the back story: When Disneyland first opened in 1955, Walt Disney delivered a speech welcoming people to the happiest place on Earth. To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here …
Jul 12 2022
Hero Hunger: A Report From 2022
They little knew of brotherhood – The faith of fighting men – Who once to prove their lie was good Hanged Colonel Jacques Chretien. [Gordon R. Dickson, “Brothers”] The C.S.O. and I recently watched this Amazon Prime mini-series and loved it. The headliner and co-producer is Chris Pratt, one of entertainment media’s disfavored for …
Jul 03 2022
Transgressive Artists And Their Transcrap
Count on a lover of words to mangle them artistically. Of course, “art” doesn’t mean what it once did, but we’ll get to that in a moment. “Transgressive” is one of those words: the sort that appear only in very specific contexts. Such words are often used to defy some near-universal understanding, or …
Jun 03 2022
The Need to Defeat Those Exploiting Insanity to Achieve Total Power — UPDATED
RESISTANCE PRESERVES LIBERTY AND DEFENDS SANITY IN THE PROCESS. Only then does social cohesion stand a chance of returning, and the advance of civilization with it — real progress and not the regression sought by Progs. • Screams for diverse goals are identified by social engineers. • Owning the means to amplify screams, they persuade …
May 25 2022
Solicitors And Solicitations
No, this won’t be about the British legal system. It’s for any other indie writers in the audience. I suspect there are a few; we tend to “huddle.” I believe in charity: that is, in helping those whose needs are unmet through no fault of their own. (Charity toward those who’ve “made their …
May 11 2022
“Not Done”
Historically, much that is not illegal by statute has been restrained by an unwritten social code. Nineteenth Century England, the closest approach to a classical-liberal polity in Europe of that era, had extensive codes of that sort. Because English society was stratified by class, there were several such codes, which included rules by which …
Feb 27 2022
The Fraying Part 3: Action And Reaction
Through the first and second pieces, the news has all been bad. Now it’s time to review the other consequences of the sociocultural assault on American norms: the ones that hold out some hope for a future of freedom and decency. *** As I’ve written before, word gets around. What people need to …
Sep 01 2021
A Comment On Commentary
Back in the heyday of blogging, everyone and his halfwit Uncle Herman had a blog. There were, at peak, over 50 million such sites. Most, of course, were of no broad consequence: little was posted there, and most of that was worthless. However, they gave their “proprietors” a sense that they could be listened …
Jul 19 2021
Something Unexpected
Liberty’s Torch isn’t a well-known, heavily-trafficked site. Thus I don’t expect to receive a great deal of email from persons with a significant public profile. I get a little of it…evenly split, as you might imagine, between applause and razzberries. So the following, which arrived in the email moments ago, came as a surprise. …
Jul 03 2021
Formerly Unconscionable Connections
News item: Former Police Officer Recounts Witnessing ‘Industrialized’ Organ Harvesting in China The following are questions our society would almost certainly have insisted be asked in another era. Have you asked what is the source of your life-saving organ? To what soul or grieving family may you direct thanks for it? If you asked, did …
Jun 21 2021
Dead Giveaways Dept.
Now and then it all becomes too terribly clear: Chapman University in California is having segregated “Cultural Graduation” ceremonies including “Black Graduation,” “APIDA Graduation,” “Lavender Graduation,” “disability Graduation,” “Middle Eastern Graduation,” and “Latinx Graduation.” The segregated ceremonies, which will be taking place in addition to the main commencement, will take place on …
Jun 09 2021
Misplaced Pride And Its Consequences
Pride is one of the more controversial elements in the human psyche. Excessive pride, a.k.a. vanity, is one of the seven capital sins. However, just pride – i.e., a proportionate pride in one’s own accomplishments, is all right. In fact, it’s damned near impossible to suppress. But there’s also a foolish variety of …
May 25 2021
The House of the Rising Sun, Updated for Our Times
There are ways to fight back against the destructive zeitgeist that I see as being under the influence of powerful misanthropic forces. One of these is to take a popular tune and transform the lyrics, get it performed well, and post it. Should others like it too, it will take on a life of its …
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