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Reflections #9
That Old Confidence
Faith with Both Eyes Open
The detritus of this technological moment
Citizen disposal
The Data Made Us Do It
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‘Democracy’ Means Never Having to Hear ‘You’re Fired!’ On fortifying managed democracy from ‘political interference’ I try not to let myself get dragged into writing quick reaction pieces on breaking news or stuff other people write. It’s a bad habit of the internet age. But what can I say, sometimes I just can’t help it. Sometimes
What the left can teach the right about political power Political power is not a toy. It is not a trophy awarded to the winner of the debate club. Power is a game, but it is the game of kings. It is chess, not checkers. If you intend to play the game, you had better come with a serious strategy
Waiting for "Mark Zero" A meditation on a favorite pulp novel I woke up on my birthday to see a bridge collapsing. My wife was watching it on her iPad. "You've got to see this. There's been an accident" she said. I watched the video from start to finish. Then she said in a
Gaza and the laws of war As the father of a toddler, I am obviously distressed to hear that toddlers are being maimed and killed by bombs paid for by my tax dollars. I want this shambolic slaughter-circus to stop. I think every institution involved in it, from UNRWA to the UN to Hamas to the
Richard Dawkins, champion of atheism, mourns Christianity’s decline In a recent appearance, the notorious atheist Richard Dawkins lamented the lost influence of Christianity, going so far as to declare himself a “cultural Christian.” While achieving a level of notoriety for his work in the field of biology, Dawkins became best known for his vocal opposition to religion in
Reflections #8 Normal is over On Sunday morning I was greeted by the shrieking sound of police sirens. Possibly three to four vehicles sped past with their sirens blazing aloud. Later that morning, I go outside of my front door for a brisk walk and I immediately see an abandoned vehicle with
Why regime charity poses a big problem MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, recently announced her intention to engage in another round of philanthropy by donating $640 million to charity. Of the $60 billion she received after splitting with her husband, Scott has already given over $16 billion to various nonprofit organizations. To most
Why the left fears beauty A British museum owned by Cambridge University recently overhauled its art exhibits and introduced new signage warning that paintings of the British countryside could trigger “dark nationalist feelings.” Another sign in the exhibit explains, “Landscape paintings were also always entangled with national identity. The countryside was seen as a direct
Reflections #7 The decline of civility In modern-day Britain, the decline in manners, standards and public behaviour is very difficult to ignore and it is difficult to ignore because it is all around us. The sad fact of the matter is that, in many respects, we are no longer a civil country.
Interview: Ryszard Legutko Liberal Democracy, Communism, and totalitarian temptations in free societies In my recent essay “Poland and the Demon in Democracy” I discussed the political turmoil happening in Poland through the lens of Polish philosopher Ryszard Legutko’s 2016 book The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies. After the essay
A republic’s shield or tyranny’s sword? In the modern world, it is difficult to imagine a nation without a professional standing military force, but throughout history such a force has been considered at odds with the liberty of the people. The debate was far from settled when the United States was founded. While many consider it
A conversation about monarchy "Now and for the foreseeable future, any election is either plenary or nugatory." One David Volodzko, whom I know not otherwise but who writes about “communism, fascism and radical movements,” and who was apparently fired by the Seattle Times for improperly comparing Hitler to Lenin—skilfully earning the ire of
Dispatch: A Question of Loyalty A return to the rough-and-tumble 1790s “I have, for sometime past, viewed the political concerns of the United States with an anxious, and painful eye. They appear to me, to be moving by hasty strides to some awful crisis; but in what they will result—that Being, who sees, foresees,
America’s true identity crisis We live in an ideological age. Communism, fascism, classical liberalism, progressivism, democracy, capitalism — we fight wars over these terms even though some of these ideologies are dead and others have become meaningless. Modern people think of ideology as something constructed before a society begins, something that defines a civilization from
The right was wrong about virtue-signaling A video of a family with four “transkids” went viral across social media this week. Many conservatives were justifiably appalled and pointed out that the chances of randomly having four children with severe body dysmorphic disorder in the same family are incredibly low. Commenters on the video suggested that the
Reflections #6 Broken Britain When l was researching some articles at the end of last year, I stumbled on a new You Tube niche of sorts: people that basically go across the UK highlighting the decline of major cities and towns on the ground. You Tubers like the Wandering Turnip, Charles Veitch,
Ghosts of an Undiscovered Country A review of "Thrilling Adventures Among the Early Settlers" by Warren Wildwood The following is an excerpt from a book review published on the OGC SubStack reviewing "Thrilling Adventures Among the Early Settlers" by Warren Wildwood. Back in the old days of YouTube, just before COVID, when the sides of