Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Book Review: Gods Behaving Badly
I recently finished reading Marie Phillips' book Gods Behaving Badly. Not bad for the first time out of the chute. In this tale Ms. Phillips brings us up to date on what happened to the Greek Pantheon. Seems that after losing the limelight to that young upstart Jesus and the spread of Christianity, Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo and the clan have done a reverse "Beverly Hillbillies" and moved downmarket from Olympus to a tumbledown house in modern day London. It seems that, for reasons only alluded to early in the book, the gods have lost most of their powers, able to barely perform their assigned tasks (or in D&D terms, oversee their portfolio). Apollo can still make the sun rise and set but to work on on television as a TV psychic he has to rely on tricks having lost his ability to prophesy. Poor Demeter can no longer cultivate plants. And Zeus seems to have disappeared completely (you find out where he is later). Mankind is represented by Neil and Alice, two rather ordinary people who go about their lives. Neil is the typical nerdish engineer and Alice works as a cleaner who winds up taking the job of cleaning the townhouse of the gods. Due to squabble between Apollo and Aphrodite the lives of Alice and Neil are turned upside down as they learn what happens when mortals interfere with the gods (or at least those of Greek mythology whose historic exploits are marvelously updated by Ms. Phillips for those who never read Edith Hamilton's works).
Is this a tome for the ages? No, but I did come away with some thoughts particularly in the area of the power of belief (or to "religify" it, faith) and the concept of myth. Let me try to tie the two together without creating too vulgar (in the sense of undeveloped and not that of profanity) an analysis. What Phillips shows her readers (or at least those who care to look) is the consequences of a people who forget the myths and narratives of humanity. Modern man carries on actions without any meaning or context (some of the Christian existentialists like Gabriel Marcel immediately come to mind). In the book Artemis talks about dogs becoming docile and forgetting what it means to be a dog. Sex becomes common to the point where Aphrodite works as a phone-sex operator. Dionysus runs an underground club where he dispenses his special wine. In mythology the gods embody the meaning, the "why" of various human activities. As belief in the gods wane man carries on but there is something lost, the activities become hollow when separated from their raison d'être. For the existentialists this is part of what is referred to as an inauthentic life (for some wonderful analysis I really do recommend Marcel's Man Against Mass Society).
So, is this a "must buy"? No, but if you enjoy anachronism and the figures of myth as I do it does merit consideration for your hard-earned dollars (thanks for giving this to me Eugenia). Ms. Phillip's easy writing styles creates a breezy book that can, if one wants to, make you think and if not you come away not regretting having picked it up. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does for an encore.
Is this a tome for the ages? No, but I did come away with some thoughts particularly in the area of the power of belief (or to "religify" it, faith) and the concept of myth. Let me try to tie the two together without creating too vulgar (in the sense of undeveloped and not that of profanity) an analysis. What Phillips shows her readers (or at least those who care to look) is the consequences of a people who forget the myths and narratives of humanity. Modern man carries on actions without any meaning or context (some of the Christian existentialists like Gabriel Marcel immediately come to mind). In the book Artemis talks about dogs becoming docile and forgetting what it means to be a dog. Sex becomes common to the point where Aphrodite works as a phone-sex operator. Dionysus runs an underground club where he dispenses his special wine. In mythology the gods embody the meaning, the "why" of various human activities. As belief in the gods wane man carries on but there is something lost, the activities become hollow when separated from their raison d'être. For the existentialists this is part of what is referred to as an inauthentic life (for some wonderful analysis I really do recommend Marcel's Man Against Mass Society).
So, is this a "must buy"? No, but if you enjoy anachronism and the figures of myth as I do it does merit consideration for your hard-earned dollars (thanks for giving this to me Eugenia). Ms. Phillip's easy writing styles creates a breezy book that can, if one wants to, make you think and if not you come away not regretting having picked it up. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does for an encore.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Further Tributes to E. Gary Gygax
Thanks for the link Gregg.
How Gary Gygax touched other lives
The following from the theatrical release of "The Fellowship of the Ring" strikes me as poignant:
"The world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it."
- Galadriel
(Funny, at lunch with Andrew yesterday in which a Callahan's Red was raised to the memory of Gary he mentioned that some artist posted somewhere that he didn't feel much attachment to Gygax, that was his father's time... ah, how soon the young forget that we today stand on the shoulders of giants, where JRRT-EGG provide the foundation).
And sadly, with them both now gone, so does this quote...
"Our list of allies grows thin!"
Elrond (to Gandalf)
How Gary Gygax touched other lives
The following from the theatrical release of "The Fellowship of the Ring" strikes me as poignant:
"The world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it."
- Galadriel
(Funny, at lunch with Andrew yesterday in which a Callahan's Red was raised to the memory of Gary he mentioned that some artist posted somewhere that he didn't feel much attachment to Gygax, that was his father's time... ah, how soon the young forget that we today stand on the shoulders of giants, where JRRT-EGG provide the foundation).
And sadly, with them both now gone, so does this quote...
"Our list of allies grows thin!"
Elrond (to Gandalf)
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Thanks Gary
Gary Gygax died today. "Gary who?" Gary Gygax, the father of modern gaming, the visionary of what became known as "Dungeons and Dragons". I'm sad for many reasons. The more narcissistic reason is that it means I am getting older. I started playing D&D around 1982 in college and back then Mr. Gygax was still active, still a household name in my burgeoning circle of friends. It's difficult for me to believe that it was 26 years ago that I first "slung dice" with my friends. 26 years ago... I now have friends who weren't even born at that time! The passing of personalities who influenced by life brought on by the passing of time simply reinforces my own feeling of mortality.
I'm sad for other reasons too. Regardless of your views on role playing games, I have to say that some of my most intense and closest friendships were formed over a makeshift table, dice in the form of Platonic solids, pencils, papers, cold pizza and warm soda (later replaced by warm beer). I miss those times, the closeness of those friendships. My college roommate Gregg and I still talk (well, more often the 21st century version of talk) after all this time. I recall quite vividly nights in the dorm room gaming with Gregg, Patrick, and Pete as well as many a Saturday afternoon spent in Brady Commons at Mizzou with the gaming society (and after being kicked out going to The Old Heidelberg to play beer and pretzel games). Through gaming I finally had friends. I had gone the first 18 years of my life without any real friends in it and because of Gary Gygax's desire to expand gaming I finally had friends. And this wasn't the only time either. When I later moved to Kansas City to work on my PhD my first group of friends THERE was created because of gaming. Thomas, Darrin, Van... oh so many Saturday nights spent at Thomas' place gaming, eating pizza, and just having fun. Shoot, gaming even got me a date with someone still special to me. In many ways a connection through gaming brought me my friend Andrew here in San Diego as well. So I owe a lot to gaming and Mr. Gygax because through it I discovered a place where I could fit in and find out what it meant to belong.
On a more academic and philosophical level, D&D opened me up to the realm of fantasy, of myth and legend and what they can mean to a person in modern times. My current love of philosophers who talk about issues of myth and story telling I can trace directly back to D&D. The idea of narrative, the power of story, the search for meaning, the beauty of using your own imagination to create, all of these go back in some manner to playing D&D. It was during D&D games I learned to tell my own stories, to spin tales that others found entertaining, to sharpen my own intellectual tools when questioned, to think quickly and coherently outside of simple college work.
So for all these reasons and many others you will be missed E. Gary Gygax.
I'm sad for other reasons too. Regardless of your views on role playing games, I have to say that some of my most intense and closest friendships were formed over a makeshift table, dice in the form of Platonic solids, pencils, papers, cold pizza and warm soda (later replaced by warm beer). I miss those times, the closeness of those friendships. My college roommate Gregg and I still talk (well, more often the 21st century version of talk) after all this time. I recall quite vividly nights in the dorm room gaming with Gregg, Patrick, and Pete as well as many a Saturday afternoon spent in Brady Commons at Mizzou with the gaming society (and after being kicked out going to The Old Heidelberg to play beer and pretzel games). Through gaming I finally had friends. I had gone the first 18 years of my life without any real friends in it and because of Gary Gygax's desire to expand gaming I finally had friends. And this wasn't the only time either. When I later moved to Kansas City to work on my PhD my first group of friends THERE was created because of gaming. Thomas, Darrin, Van... oh so many Saturday nights spent at Thomas' place gaming, eating pizza, and just having fun. Shoot, gaming even got me a date with someone still special to me. In many ways a connection through gaming brought me my friend Andrew here in San Diego as well. So I owe a lot to gaming and Mr. Gygax because through it I discovered a place where I could fit in and find out what it meant to belong.
On a more academic and philosophical level, D&D opened me up to the realm of fantasy, of myth and legend and what they can mean to a person in modern times. My current love of philosophers who talk about issues of myth and story telling I can trace directly back to D&D. The idea of narrative, the power of story, the search for meaning, the beauty of using your own imagination to create, all of these go back in some manner to playing D&D. It was during D&D games I learned to tell my own stories, to spin tales that others found entertaining, to sharpen my own intellectual tools when questioned, to think quickly and coherently outside of simple college work.
So for all these reasons and many others you will be missed E. Gary Gygax.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Tying Two Books Together
Well, I just finished reading Bruce Bawer's While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying The West From Within. All the while I was reading this I was reminded of a section in David Frum's most recent opus, Comback where he strongly encourages the next Republican president (and I would say, the next president regardless of party affiliation) to strengthen ties with whomever we consider allies in the east (particularly India) because it may soon be the case that we as a people who love freedom of expression and who enjoy a high level of personal liberty to live our lives as we see fit can no longer count on many of the countries of Europe. Why? Because of the massive growth of radical Islamists in those countries. This is happening because of two major trends. First, after World War Two, the birthrate of Europeans has declined to about 1.45 per couple, well below the rate of 2.1 needed simply to sustain a population. Birthrates to Muslims living in Europe tend to be much higher, about three times as high according to The Council on Foreign Relations. The second trend is that of what are called "fetching marriages" where young Muslim women are betrothed to Muslim men in other countries. The marriage will allow not only the husband but his entire family to emigrate to most European countries. These combine to create a situation of high concentrations of Muslims in many European cities. In a 2005 report the Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life:
Now Bawer is NOT some ranting ultra-right-xenophobic writer but a pretty liberal gay man with a Ph.D. in English who left the United States in 1997 to live in Europe and currently resides in Norway. The accounts he describes in the book are a mix of both personal (such as his partner being attacked by a small gang of Muslim youths for being gay) to those of how the European press handled the attacks of 9/11, 7/7, 3/11, up to and including the 2006 uproar over the publishing of cartoon images of Islam and Muhammad which lead to the deaths of about 100 people by the "peace loving" radical followers of Islam. The accounts of how European "leaders" and "intellectuals" submitted to the terrorists are tale of legend. I didn't have time to track down all of the quotes (I do have a day job) but those I did find made me ill and seriously question how we can trust them if push really comes to shove. Shades of Neville Chamberlain... the only question is which city will be the modern version of Munich? Interestingly, Bawer, no huge fan of religion, says that one of Europe's problems in dealing with what is happening is due to the fact that the marginalizing of Christianity has left a vacuum in the souls (and apparently heads) of Europe's intelligentsia. Since they have no place for religion in their own lives they simply do not understand the power religion can have in the lives of others.
One of the largest hurdles to any hope of integration is that most European Muslims seem to not view themselves as citizens of the country of residence but to hold primary allegiance to the greater global Muslim community. Why do they get away with this? In large part it is because rather than trying to be a "melting pot" like the United States, European countries approach immigrants like one would a patchwork quilt where you are not only encouraged to keep a separate identity from your new home country, but often though subtle (and not so subtle) societal pressures made to keep yourselves distinct from the true "native born".
Now some of the gutless wonders of Europe are calling for the implementation (or at least allowance) of Sharia legal system. Technically this is supposed to apply only to Muslims, but as one site promoting religious tolerance says "sometimes this is not the case". Two interesting sites to read about what implementing Sharia would mean can be found here and here.
I know that many of you do not have the time to read Bawer's book, but I do urge you to read his commentary 9/11 Five Years Later: A View from Europe.
they make up at least 25 percent of the populations in
Marseille and Rotterdam, 20 percent in Malmo (in Sweden),
15 percent in Brussels and Birmingham, and 10
percent or more in London, Paris and Copenhagen.
Over the next few decades, a number of large European
cities will likely become majority Muslim.
Now Bawer is NOT some ranting ultra-right-xenophobic writer but a pretty liberal gay man with a Ph.D. in English who left the United States in 1997 to live in Europe and currently resides in Norway. The accounts he describes in the book are a mix of both personal (such as his partner being attacked by a small gang of Muslim youths for being gay) to those of how the European press handled the attacks of 9/11, 7/7, 3/11, up to and including the 2006 uproar over the publishing of cartoon images of Islam and Muhammad which lead to the deaths of about 100 people by the "peace loving" radical followers of Islam. The accounts of how European "leaders" and "intellectuals" submitted to the terrorists are tale of legend. I didn't have time to track down all of the quotes (I do have a day job) but those I did find made me ill and seriously question how we can trust them if push really comes to shove. Shades of Neville Chamberlain... the only question is which city will be the modern version of Munich? Interestingly, Bawer, no huge fan of religion, says that one of Europe's problems in dealing with what is happening is due to the fact that the marginalizing of Christianity has left a vacuum in the souls (and apparently heads) of Europe's intelligentsia. Since they have no place for religion in their own lives they simply do not understand the power religion can have in the lives of others.
One of the largest hurdles to any hope of integration is that most European Muslims seem to not view themselves as citizens of the country of residence but to hold primary allegiance to the greater global Muslim community. Why do they get away with this? In large part it is because rather than trying to be a "melting pot" like the United States, European countries approach immigrants like one would a patchwork quilt where you are not only encouraged to keep a separate identity from your new home country, but often though subtle (and not so subtle) societal pressures made to keep yourselves distinct from the true "native born".
Now some of the gutless wonders of Europe are calling for the implementation (or at least allowance) of Sharia legal system. Technically this is supposed to apply only to Muslims, but as one site promoting religious tolerance says "sometimes this is not the case". Two interesting sites to read about what implementing Sharia would mean can be found here and here.
I know that many of you do not have the time to read Bawer's book, but I do urge you to read his commentary 9/11 Five Years Later: A View from Europe.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I wish!
I mean, have you seen this guy?! Love his real accent and that nude scene in the show... wow...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Another Warrior Passes
William F. Buckley, Jr. died today. I grew up listening to Buckley and even during my liberal phase earlier in life I loved to hear him. The man was brilliant, urbane, eloquent... three traits that seem to be missing in today's Conservative landscape. Buckley met liberal "intellectuals" head on, out in the open in public debate, showing that to be conservative does not mean you are uneducated, unthinking, and backward but that we did have a strong offering in the great marketplace of ideas. Compare how Buckley responded in this debate with Gore Vidal and ask yourself who is more erudite, the more heartfelt, the more realistic of the two:
Ah, Bill... I'm sorry that you're gone, but even more sorry that there seems to be no one at present able to begin to fill your shoes.
Ah, Bill... I'm sorry that you're gone, but even more sorry that there seems to be no one at present able to begin to fill your shoes.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Movie Sunday
OK, being on-call sucks on the whole. I have to stick around the house, I can't spend time Mr. Beau, I am forced to actually do some housework since there is little else to do. However, in an act of rebellion against that last bit I decided to spend time watching movies (ok, so I am folding clothes at the same time). One of the movies I decided to watch is For The Bible Tells Me So. Below are two of the trailers for the film (thanks YouTube):
I have to say, to the most ardent of literalists this film will not change your mind about your interpretation of the Bible (and I found a few logical fallacies when they tried to confront literalism), but my hope is that this film will in some small part help change how religious families view their child if he or she comes out to them. Given that gay youths are 3-to-7 times more likely to commit suicide as their straight counterparts any little bit helps. I was particularly proud of that old Missouri congressman Richard Gephardt and his wife when talking about their lesbian daughter. After being told by Chrissy that she was gay Mr. Gephardt, in the best portrayal of family values in the film, said that his first worries about all this was for his daughter, for her safety and fear for her (not him and his wife) of the discrimination that he knew was out there. Now the movie is NOT anti-Christian or anti-religion, but it does show some scenes that are disturbing (like the well know clip of Jimmy Swaggart saying that if any man looked at him "that way" he would kill him and just tell God that the man died), but these five family all have at their core a strong vein of religious belief and faith and they did have struggles. One daughter, after not speaking with her mother for several months after coming out, committed suicide. I can't think of anything more difficult for a mother or father to take. My own parents have had a difficult journey over the years and at various times in the film I could see their faces and even hear their words coming from the mouthes of others. But like most of the parents in the film they concluded that there will just have to be some things that will be resolved between God and me, and as for the rest I am their son and nothing will ever change that. If only others could be that fortunate.
I have to say, to the most ardent of literalists this film will not change your mind about your interpretation of the Bible (and I found a few logical fallacies when they tried to confront literalism), but my hope is that this film will in some small part help change how religious families view their child if he or she comes out to them. Given that gay youths are 3-to-7 times more likely to commit suicide as their straight counterparts any little bit helps. I was particularly proud of that old Missouri congressman Richard Gephardt and his wife when talking about their lesbian daughter. After being told by Chrissy that she was gay Mr. Gephardt, in the best portrayal of family values in the film, said that his first worries about all this was for his daughter, for her safety and fear for her (not him and his wife) of the discrimination that he knew was out there. Now the movie is NOT anti-Christian or anti-religion, but it does show some scenes that are disturbing (like the well know clip of Jimmy Swaggart saying that if any man looked at him "that way" he would kill him and just tell God that the man died), but these five family all have at their core a strong vein of religious belief and faith and they did have struggles. One daughter, after not speaking with her mother for several months after coming out, committed suicide. I can't think of anything more difficult for a mother or father to take. My own parents have had a difficult journey over the years and at various times in the film I could see their faces and even hear their words coming from the mouthes of others. But like most of the parents in the film they concluded that there will just have to be some things that will be resolved between God and me, and as for the rest I am their son and nothing will ever change that. If only others could be that fortunate.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Poor Michelle Obama
For the first time in her life she has felt proud of the United States? What a sad, sad person.
Reading List - 2008
Here is my current reading list for the rest of 2008. A bit late, should have had this up in January since I've finished a few already, but I guess better late than never. I'm leaving off the job-required readings and the course material for my MBA classes since those will be on an "as needed" basis and I can't really plan for what they will be. As with most lists, this will morph over time but at least I have a plan. Finished books will be noted by (x) so this creates a bit of a socialized responsibility as everyone reading this can note my progress (or lack thereof).
Fiction
Clarke, Childhood's End (X)
Dante, The Divine Comedy
Dick, The Man In The high Castle (X)
Dick, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (X)
Heinlein, Starship Troopers
Phillips, Gods Behaving Badly(X)
Stephenson, Snow Crash
Tolkien, The Hobbit
Social Science and Current Events
Bawer, While Europe Slept(X)
Frum, Comback: Conservatism That Can Win Again(X)
Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative
Postman, Amusing Ourselves To Death (X)
Smick, The World Is Curved
Steyn, American Alone
Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage: Pro and Con(X)
Science and Mathematics
Hester et al, 21st Century Astronomy (X)
Shilov, Elementary Real and Complex Analysis
Shilov, Elementary Functional Analysis
Philosophy and Religion
The Book of The Acts of the Apostles (with Commentary)
Blackburn, Truth, A Guide (X)
Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane
Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning (X)
Montaigne, Complete Essays
Fiction
Clarke, Childhood's End (X)
Dante, The Divine Comedy
Dick, The Man In The high Castle (X)
Dick, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (X)
Heinlein, Starship Troopers
Phillips, Gods Behaving Badly(X)
Stephenson, Snow Crash
Tolkien, The Hobbit
Social Science and Current Events
Bawer, While Europe Slept(X)
Frum, Comback: Conservatism That Can Win Again(X)
Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative
Postman, Amusing Ourselves To Death (X)
Smick, The World Is Curved
Steyn, American Alone
Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage: Pro and Con(X)
Science and Mathematics
Hester et al, 21st Century Astronomy (X)
Shilov, Elementary Real and Complex Analysis
Shilov, Elementary Functional Analysis
Philosophy and Religion
The Book of The Acts of the Apostles (with Commentary)
Blackburn, Truth, A Guide (X)
Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane
Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning (X)
Montaigne, Complete Essays
Friday, February 22, 2008
Outer orbit
Just to throw out a question... how in California does one change "friend orbits"? For some reason I feel like, after knowing people for years, that I remain on the fringe of what could be called "friend orbits". It seems like no matter what I do I cannot move from "slightly better than an acquaintance, rarely thought of" to "actual friend"? To be honest I am at a loss as to what to do. Any suggestions?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Truth From A Cartoon
My friend Andrew sent me this clip today. It really does ask an interesting question... how do you offer a tax rebate to people who don't pay taxes? Good start, but it doesn't go far enough so I will do it one better... why don't those who pay the majority of the taxes get a part of the rebate? Here I am, not poor but not uber-rich either, the perfect mugging victim, er, tax payer in the eyes of government (single, renter, no children, 6-figure income) and yet my current economic situation precludes me from participating in something that I am paying for! I mean, I have about 47% of my income withheld for some type of tax (and let's not go into consumption taxes, I am talking just withholdings). Personally, I think the rebate is a joke and one of the worse panderings of the political season, but what really sticks in my craw is that those of us paying in get absolutely no benefit. Zip. Zero rebate. The rebates are phased out for higher-paid people, starting at an adjusted gross income of $75,000 for a single person or $150,000 for a couple. There are no rebates for people with no children who make more than $87,000 each or $174,000 per couple. So lets go back to the cartoon... given that the noun rebate literally means to give back part of a payment, how do you give a rebate to someone who made no payment?
Friday, February 08, 2008
Ideology v Politics
Well, "Super Tuesday" has come and gone and the race for both the Republican and the Democrat parties has narrows to two people each (and that is a stretch for the Republican side where McCain holds a daunting delegate lead over Huckabee). I haven't said much about the election thus far mainly because of my disappointment in the available candidates. In a matter of public confession, I am 0/2 in my choices on the Republican side. I was initially leaning towards Giuliani who proved that when it comes to political tactics he is no Bill Clinton, then decided to mildly support Romney who after being sandbagged by the McCain-Huckabee team bowed out. Am I cursed? If so, I should throw my support to Obama just so he will lose (it is sad that my instincts tell me to fear the least experienced, the challenged, the least thoughtful of the bunch but I do... tells you about my faith in the American electorate).
But that isn't the purpose for the post. The main purpose came from an online article I read about a few days ago regarding McCain. It said that many Republicans consider him to be "a liberal and not a Republican." I thought to my self "Surely this is not right." I read it again and yep, that is what they said. Did you spot the problem? If not I'll tell you. Liberalism, like conservatism, is an ideology. Republican, like Democrat, is a political party. It is entirely possible to be liberal AND a Republican just as it is possible to be a conservative and a Democrat. Being a conservative or a liberal applies to how one views the world while being Republican or Democrat defines political policies. A more accurate assessment in the article would have been that Republicans consider McCain a "liberal and not a conservative" or even "more like a Democrat than a Republican". One statement defining his ideology and the other his politics.
Given this then, just what IS a conservative? It kinda depends on who you ask. There are economic conservatives, social conservatives, foreign policy conservatives. In the marketplace of ideas there is a vast, rich offering of conservative ideas to choose from. But if this is so, what is the issue with McCain? Is he conservative or is he not? To help examine this I turned an old "friend", one of the fathers of modern conservative intellectual thought, Russell Kirk. In his monumental The Conservative Mind, Krik provides six key canons of conservative thought which I will summarize as the following:
Belief in a transcendent order, or natural law governing both the individual as well as society
Belief in human plurality and natural diversity and a resistance to arbitrary systems of leveling and false equality
Ultimate equality is in the judgment of God and should exist before our courts, but again creating an artificial equality of condition means equality in servitude and boredom
Freedom and property are closely linked. Economic leveling is not the same as economic progress
Distrust of people who would remake society strictly on some abstract design. Custom and tradition can be a useful guide.
Change does not equal reform. "Society must alter, for prudent change is the means of social preservation; but a statesman must take Providence into his calculation, and a statesman's chief virtual... is prudence."
This, according to Kirk, is the kerygma of conservatism. Conservatism isn't policy on school choice, abortion, tax reduction, illegal immigration and a host of other policies that form planks in a political party's platform. Conservatism is a world view. It's a true belief in diversity, that people are different, have different goals, dreams, talents and should be allowed to pursue them with the understanding that the outcomes will be different for different people. It's an idea that change for the sake of change is not the same as progress. It's a very firm belief in the law of unintended consequences. of understanding that while sometimes you have to take certain leaps it is wise to look before you jump. It's acknowledging that while not everything that happened has been good, not all of it has been bad and that the past can guide us to a better future if we are wise enough to examine it. Can you be a Republican and not hold some of these beliefs? Sure, but on the flip side it is possible to be a Democrat and believe them too. So is John McCain a conservative? Taking this view he possibly is. Is he a Republican? Well, that requires another post.
But that isn't the purpose for the post. The main purpose came from an online article I read about a few days ago regarding McCain. It said that many Republicans consider him to be "a liberal and not a Republican." I thought to my self "Surely this is not right." I read it again and yep, that is what they said. Did you spot the problem? If not I'll tell you. Liberalism, like conservatism, is an ideology. Republican, like Democrat, is a political party. It is entirely possible to be liberal AND a Republican just as it is possible to be a conservative and a Democrat. Being a conservative or a liberal applies to how one views the world while being Republican or Democrat defines political policies. A more accurate assessment in the article would have been that Republicans consider McCain a "liberal and not a conservative" or even "more like a Democrat than a Republican". One statement defining his ideology and the other his politics.
Given this then, just what IS a conservative? It kinda depends on who you ask. There are economic conservatives, social conservatives, foreign policy conservatives. In the marketplace of ideas there is a vast, rich offering of conservative ideas to choose from. But if this is so, what is the issue with McCain? Is he conservative or is he not? To help examine this I turned an old "friend", one of the fathers of modern conservative intellectual thought, Russell Kirk. In his monumental The Conservative Mind, Krik provides six key canons of conservative thought which I will summarize as the following:
This, according to Kirk, is the kerygma of conservatism. Conservatism isn't policy on school choice, abortion, tax reduction, illegal immigration and a host of other policies that form planks in a political party's platform. Conservatism is a world view. It's a true belief in diversity, that people are different, have different goals, dreams, talents and should be allowed to pursue them with the understanding that the outcomes will be different for different people. It's an idea that change for the sake of change is not the same as progress. It's a very firm belief in the law of unintended consequences. of understanding that while sometimes you have to take certain leaps it is wise to look before you jump. It's acknowledging that while not everything that happened has been good, not all of it has been bad and that the past can guide us to a better future if we are wise enough to examine it. Can you be a Republican and not hold some of these beliefs? Sure, but on the flip side it is possible to be a Democrat and believe them too. So is John McCain a conservative? Taking this view he possibly is. Is he a Republican? Well, that requires another post.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Time To Flush The Turds From Sacramento
Vote NO on Proposition 93! What a load of crap masterminded by Fabián Núñez and his cronies who are holding Sacramento hostage. If Núñez and his supporters win, 42 elected officials (parasites) would hold on to power, including Núñez and his partner in crime Don Perata. Both will be able to stay in power as head of the two branches of our state legislature. Oh but they are fighting to hold on. They try to spin it to make you think you are really shortening their terms in office from a total of 14 years to a total of 12 years. What they AREN'T saying is that it's not a reduction but an actual EXTENSION of their existing terms for another 6 years. If Prop 93 fails they cannot run again for the same office! If it does pass they can run again (and the way people tend to vote in California, will be elected again). They claim that experience is needed, but neither is a novice when it comes to politics and look where we as a state are now.
Remember, vote NO on 93. Push the level and flush the poop from the state capitol.
Remember, vote NO on 93. Push the level and flush the poop from the state capitol.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Where Oh Where Is Ron?
If Ronald Reagan were elected in the 2008 election he could use this portion of his first inaugural address almost verbatim... which is sad considering he would be a Republican president following a Republican president. But I guess that is the difference between being Republican and being Conservative:
For many reasons I really miss Ron. In recalling what Lady Thatcher said in her 1997 address to the Heritage Foundation about President Reagan I remember why:
Right from the beginning, Ronald Reagan set out to challenge everything that the liberal political elite of America accepted and sought to propagate. They believed that America was doomed to decline: He believed it was destined for further greatness. They imagined that sooner or later there would be convergence between the free Western system and the socialist Eastern system, and that some kind of social democratic outcome was inevitable. He, by contrast, considered that socialism was a patent failure which should be cast onto the trash heap of history. They thought that the problem with America was the American people, though they didn’t quite put it like that. He thought that the problem with America was the American government, and he did put it just like that.
The political elite were prepared to kowtow to the counterculture that grew up on American campuses, fed by a mixture of high-brow dogma and low-brow self-indulgence. Governor Reagan would have none of it...
For many reasons I really miss Ron. In recalling what Lady Thatcher said in her 1997 address to the Heritage Foundation about President Reagan I remember why:
Right from the beginning, Ronald Reagan set out to challenge everything that the liberal political elite of America accepted and sought to propagate. They believed that America was doomed to decline: He believed it was destined for further greatness. They imagined that sooner or later there would be convergence between the free Western system and the socialist Eastern system, and that some kind of social democratic outcome was inevitable. He, by contrast, considered that socialism was a patent failure which should be cast onto the trash heap of history. They thought that the problem with America was the American people, though they didn’t quite put it like that. He thought that the problem with America was the American government, and he did put it just like that.
The political elite were prepared to kowtow to the counterculture that grew up on American campuses, fed by a mixture of high-brow dogma and low-brow self-indulgence. Governor Reagan would have none of it...
Silly Democrats
I was shocked, amazed, stunned... the party of compassion and openness (as the Democrats like to pompously trumpet to the world) could be done in by that old bugaboo, race. Imagine my surprise when I read this article about the spat between those two paragons of "change" who claim to represent "new ways of thinking", Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. First of all, Obama's rejoinder to Clinton's remarks about Obama raising false hope doesn't really address what she was saying. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a Hillary supporter at all, but I clearly think that she was attacked out of context because what she said about Senator Obama has at least some ring of truth to it. And I am sure that her response about LBJ was not intended to diminish the work of MLK. The whole reaction stunned me until my sensible conservative mind took over and reminded me that this is what happens when you turn politics into pandering to special interest groups. And let's face it, the Republicans have their own problems with interest groups (look at the extreme religious right trying to bully the others in the old fusionist coalition), but what happened between Hil and Barack looks down right silly in comparison to what could be taken on the Republican side as actual ideological differences. The scary part is, if the Democrats control everything are we all going to have to watch what we say about or to anyone with whom we disagree? Are we witnessing the death of free speech?
Friday, January 11, 2008
What Would Hillary's Response Look Like?
Giuliani Girls v Obama Girls v Clinton ?????
Hey, if it gets people interested at all...
Hey, if it gets people interested at all...
Jackie Mason's Political Statement
I don't know where Mr. Mason's political predilection lies but this is interesting. Yeah, it's not terribly deep, but then again most of the candidates aren't either...
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Once More, With Feeling
Another year gone, another year come. It's already 2008. When I was much, much younger it seemed so far into the future. Now here I am, soon to be 45, near the end of the first decade of the 21st century. From my early "vibes" this will be an interesting year. I am approaching a "record" age (I'll write more on that when I turn 45). There is an old superstition that how things are at midnight on New Year's Day, that is how they will be for the year. So taking inventory on how things were at that time:
My bills were up to date and I had money left over
My house and yard were (relatively) clean (thanks to Mr. Beau)
I had friends who either called or texted me "Happy New Year"
Romeo was healthy and purring
My family was doing well
I had a job
I was healthy
I was happy
I was with someone who loves me
Not a bad start... and if that is the pattern for this year it looks like a good one.
Not a bad start... and if that is the pattern for this year it looks like a good one.
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