He died at 110 and was the last living veteran of the Great War.
UPDATE: He was discussed in my post (with photos) for Armistice Day 2008.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
"Perpetual Adolescents in the Widening Gyre"
The Anchoress discusses the normalization of adolescence as adult behavior and quotes Flannery O'Connor, Victor Davis Hanson, and others. I won't cherry pick it. Read it and the links.
The internet and the future of rhetoric
Peggy Noonan:
'In the past quarter-century or so, the speech as a vehicle of sustained political argument was killed by television and radio. Rhetoric was reduced to the TV producer’s 10-second soundbite, the correspondent’s eight-second insert....
'But the Internet is changing all that. It is restoring rhetoric as a force. When Gov. Mitch Daniels made his big speech—a serious, substantive one—two weeks ago, Drudge had the transcript and video up in a few hours. Gov. Chris Christie’s big speech was quickly on the net in its entirety. All the CPAC speeches were up. TED conference speeches are all over the net, as are people making speeches at town-hall meetings. I get links to full speeches every day in my inbox and you probably do too.
'People in politics think it’s all Facebook and Twitter now, but it’s not. Not everything is fractured and in pieces, some things are becoming more whole. People hunger for serious, fleshed-out ideas about what is happening in our country.'
'In the past quarter-century or so, the speech as a vehicle of sustained political argument was killed by television and radio. Rhetoric was reduced to the TV producer’s 10-second soundbite, the correspondent’s eight-second insert....
'But the Internet is changing all that. It is restoring rhetoric as a force. When Gov. Mitch Daniels made his big speech—a serious, substantive one—two weeks ago, Drudge had the transcript and video up in a few hours. Gov. Chris Christie’s big speech was quickly on the net in its entirety. All the CPAC speeches were up. TED conference speeches are all over the net, as are people making speeches at town-hall meetings. I get links to full speeches every day in my inbox and you probably do too.
'People in politics think it’s all Facebook and Twitter now, but it’s not. Not everything is fractured and in pieces, some things are becoming more whole. People hunger for serious, fleshed-out ideas about what is happening in our country.'
"Don Quixote Catholicism"
Fr. Dwight Longenecker on the need for evangelism in our modern culture that doesn't know what it doesn't know:
'[T]he Catholic faith, which is profoundly relevant (because everything in our society -- even our atheism-- is built on it) seems the most irrelevant thing to the vast majority of worldlings. How then, do we even begin to evangelize a world which is not simply lost as the ancient pagan world was lost, but is lost within a world that is still deeply Christian? Furthermore, those who reject Catholicism, continue to live and operate within a system of morality which upholds 'goodness' or 'spirituality' or 'decent behavior'--all of which comes from deeply Catholic assumptions. Therefore a huge proportion of the population follow a religion which is a vague, attenuated form of Christianity--a pale, milk and water variation of the real thing.'
'[T]he Catholic faith, which is profoundly relevant (because everything in our society -- even our atheism-- is built on it) seems the most irrelevant thing to the vast majority of worldlings. How then, do we even begin to evangelize a world which is not simply lost as the ancient pagan world was lost, but is lost within a world that is still deeply Christian? Furthermore, those who reject Catholicism, continue to live and operate within a system of morality which upholds 'goodness' or 'spirituality' or 'decent behavior'--all of which comes from deeply Catholic assumptions. Therefore a huge proportion of the population follow a religion which is a vague, attenuated form of Christianity--a pale, milk and water variation of the real thing.'
"Is Democracy Better?"
More Kirkian thought by Fr. Dwight Longenecker, though I don't know if he has actually read Russell Kirk.
"The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins" [Post No. 3500]
By John Zmirak as reviewed by Fr. Dwight Longenecker.
Reflections on St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars
Jeffrey Steel quotes Benedict XVI:
'To a priestly confrere he explained: “I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place”.[31] Aside from the actual penances which the Curé of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus’ own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the “precious cost” of redemption.'
'To a priestly confrere he explained: “I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place”.[31] Aside from the actual penances which the Curé of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus’ own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the “precious cost” of redemption.'
Bernard Nathanson, Requiescat in pace.
He was an abortion doctor who truly repented in 1979 and gave the rest of his life to saving children. He became a Catholic in 1996. Read more here.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
"Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist"
The Anchoress has a nice post on Lent and preparation for Easter with good thoughts and links.
'Foremost in my recommendations will be this book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. It is foremost because the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and it is so poorly understood by so many — even among Catholics — that I can think of no more important read, this year than Dr. Brant Pitre’s exposition of 1st Century Judaism and how it provides much-needed (and enlightening and darned exciting) context to the core belief of our faith, which is that Jesus Christ is truly Present in the Bread – Flesh, Blood, Soul and Divinity.'
'Foremost in my recommendations will be this book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. It is foremost because the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and it is so poorly understood by so many — even among Catholics — that I can think of no more important read, this year than Dr. Brant Pitre’s exposition of 1st Century Judaism and how it provides much-needed (and enlightening and darned exciting) context to the core belief of our faith, which is that Jesus Christ is truly Present in the Bread – Flesh, Blood, Soul and Divinity.'
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The making of Russell Kirk
Material from George Nash:
'In the summer of 1941, the "Jeffersonian" Kirk found himself working at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village. A few months later he was transferred to the mammoth Rouge plant, "a fearful and wonderful sight" which made him "shiver." Even before his experiences at the Ford company, Kirk had developed a distaste for big business, big labor, and big government. Unions, he told a friend, were often "more restrictive and selfish than the soulless corporation." He praised the trustbuster Thurman Arnold and hoped that he would run for president. Kirk's year or so at Ford did nothing to change his attitudes; his letters during this period expressed his scorn of unions, management, and federal "parasites." Indeed, his dislike of bureaucracy was, if anything, increasing. He denounced the military draft as "slavery." He was furious at the government's removal of Japanese-Americans from their homes on the west coast shortly after Pearl Harbor. At one point he dreamed of becoming a farmer; perhaps that would be a refuge from the Leviathan State. On another occasion he thought about becoming a kind of wandering poet for a few months: "the Vachel Lindsay of Michigan." Looking back years later in this period in his life, Kirk described it as one of "marking time." He had fallen victim to "an apathy which the modern industrial system induces...."'
'In the summer of 1941, the "Jeffersonian" Kirk found himself working at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village. A few months later he was transferred to the mammoth Rouge plant, "a fearful and wonderful sight" which made him "shiver." Even before his experiences at the Ford company, Kirk had developed a distaste for big business, big labor, and big government. Unions, he told a friend, were often "more restrictive and selfish than the soulless corporation." He praised the trustbuster Thurman Arnold and hoped that he would run for president. Kirk's year or so at Ford did nothing to change his attitudes; his letters during this period expressed his scorn of unions, management, and federal "parasites." Indeed, his dislike of bureaucracy was, if anything, increasing. He denounced the military draft as "slavery." He was furious at the government's removal of Japanese-Americans from their homes on the west coast shortly after Pearl Harbor. At one point he dreamed of becoming a farmer; perhaps that would be a refuge from the Leviathan State. On another occasion he thought about becoming a kind of wandering poet for a few months: "the Vachel Lindsay of Michigan." Looking back years later in this period in his life, Kirk described it as one of "marking time." He had fallen victim to "an apathy which the modern industrial system induces...."'
"The Sisterhood of Silence"
William Saletan in Slate has the courage to write that if someone dies in a restaurant, the health department, the medical examiner, and the coroner are called. If someone dies in an abortion clinic, it gets less attention than a parking ticket.
"Where the Leaders Are"
Peggy Noonan writes about two speeches by state governors: Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Chris Christie of New Jersey.
Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
This teaching of the Church is fairly well explained in Wikipedia, which includes long passages from several popes over the centuries.
I have been thinking about it because someone told us about the Benedictine sisters known as the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart. They trace their founding to Fr. Leonard Feeney, a very talented theologian and poet who became head of the Saint Benedict Center at Harvard Square. His literal interpretation of this doctrine and battles with his superiors resulted in his excommunication, though he was restored before his death in 1978. (His horror at the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused him to question and challenge the worldliness, secularism, and cultural assimilation of American Catholics and challenge his authorities.) The sisters are in good standing with the Holy See.
I have been thinking about it because someone told us about the Benedictine sisters known as the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart. They trace their founding to Fr. Leonard Feeney, a very talented theologian and poet who became head of the Saint Benedict Center at Harvard Square. His literal interpretation of this doctrine and battles with his superiors resulted in his excommunication, though he was restored before his death in 1978. (His horror at the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused him to question and challenge the worldliness, secularism, and cultural assimilation of American Catholics and challenge his authorities.) The sisters are in good standing with the Holy See.
Thucydides' challenge to America and Americans
Walter Russell Mead:
'Despite or perhaps because he despises everything most Americans believe, Thucydides has been studied by every generation of thoughtful Americans from the founding fathers to the present day. That is as it should be; Americans must not be afraid to subject their most cherished ideas to the toughest intellectual case against them that can be made.'
I read Thucydides' History during the summer of 1997 with a group of fifteen NEH fellows. Despite the fact that we came from across the religious and political spectrum, we could not help but admit that democratic powers are not by nature more moral than oligarchies, and that under stress may become far more tyrannical. The Athenian treatments of the Melians and Mitylenians and the disastrous invasion of Syracuse were all approved after debate by the democratic assembly of Athens.
'Despite or perhaps because he despises everything most Americans believe, Thucydides has been studied by every generation of thoughtful Americans from the founding fathers to the present day. That is as it should be; Americans must not be afraid to subject their most cherished ideas to the toughest intellectual case against them that can be made.'
I read Thucydides' History during the summer of 1997 with a group of fifteen NEH fellows. Despite the fact that we came from across the religious and political spectrum, we could not help but admit that democratic powers are not by nature more moral than oligarchies, and that under stress may become far more tyrannical. The Athenian treatments of the Melians and Mitylenians and the disastrous invasion of Syracuse were all approved after debate by the democratic assembly of Athens.
"Where Have All the Good Men Gone?"
Kay Hymowitz:
'For most of us, the cultural habitat of pre-adulthood no longer seems noteworthy. After all, popular culture has been crowded with pre-adults for almost two decades. Hollywood started the affair in the early 1990s with movies like "Singles," "Reality Bites," "Single White Female" and "Swingers." Television soon deepened the relationship, giving us the agreeable company of Monica, Joey, Rachel and Ross; Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer; Carrie, Miranda, et al.
'But for all its familiarity, pre-adulthood represents a momentous sociological development. It's no exaggeration to say that having large numbers of single young men and women living independently, while also having enough disposable income to avoid ever messing up their kitchens, is something entirely new in human experience.'
'For most of us, the cultural habitat of pre-adulthood no longer seems noteworthy. After all, popular culture has been crowded with pre-adults for almost two decades. Hollywood started the affair in the early 1990s with movies like "Singles," "Reality Bites," "Single White Female" and "Swingers." Television soon deepened the relationship, giving us the agreeable company of Monica, Joey, Rachel and Ross; Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer; Carrie, Miranda, et al.
'But for all its familiarity, pre-adulthood represents a momentous sociological development. It's no exaggeration to say that having large numbers of single young men and women living independently, while also having enough disposable income to avoid ever messing up their kitchens, is something entirely new in human experience.'
Friday, February 18, 2011
"Is Your Job an Endangered Species?"
Andy Kessler discusses the various jobs that are obsolete or rapidly becoming obsolete.
I spent the evening with an old friend whose family once owned a music store which sold instruments, sheet music, etc. My friend went into a different field and is fortunate. He would have needed a crystal ball to anticipate how music and musical instruments would be marketed in a digital era.
I spent the evening with an old friend whose family once owned a music store which sold instruments, sheet music, etc. My friend went into a different field and is fortunate. He would have needed a crystal ball to anticipate how music and musical instruments would be marketed in a digital era.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Kirk's Ten Conservative Principles and various conservatives
Russell Kirk's ten conservative principles were set forth during the 1950s and revised with every edition of The Conservative Mind. They are worth rereading. When I first read The Conservative Mind in 1993, it gave me the language to describe what my beliefs had long been. I was not a conservative because I was less liberal than most of the rest of the West, but because I believe that some things outlast any statute or cultural fad and build my life around those things.
With the ten conservative principles in hand, one can analyze any conservative since Edmund Burke, despite differences of party, nation, region, or religion. Burke was a Whig, but George Canning was a Tory. John Adams was a Federalist, but John Randolph was a hard-headed Jeffersonian Republican who became a Tertium Quid. Randolph despised Adams and called the famous Adams family "the American house of Stuart." John C. Calhoun was a Yale-educated Jeffersonian Republican turned "honest nullifier." Orestes Brownson was a Transcendentalist turned Catholic. Nonetheless, one can read Kirk's chapter on Adams and then his chapter on Randolph and Calhoun yet see the tapestry that is conservative thought, not as conflict, but as continuity.
[Portraits above of John Randolph and Orestes Brownson]
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Don't despair. Read Russell Kirk.
Wes McDonald is an acquaintance who also served as Dr. Kirk's assistant in Mecosta, Michigan. He and his works introduce Kirk well, but I would recommend Kirk's essays as a start, such as those found in The Politics of Prudence. Kirk's essays can also be found on the web.
Ed Feulner once asked some young people at a Kirk lecture in Washington, D.C. why they attended. They responded that everyone in D.C. worships politics but that Kirk was an articulate reminder of life, thought, and concerns greater than day-to-day politics. Kirk understood the cultural decay of our times, but he always discussed the seeds of our renewal.
Ed Feulner once asked some young people at a Kirk lecture in Washington, D.C. why they attended. They responded that everyone in D.C. worships politics but that Kirk was an articulate reminder of life, thought, and concerns greater than day-to-day politics. Kirk understood the cultural decay of our times, but he always discussed the seeds of our renewal.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
"A Simple Theology of Beauty"
Pentimento's commentary on art, music, and beauty is lovely because it is true and true because it is lovely.
Moral imagination v. diabolical imagination
Russell Kirk discussed the need for moral imagination to overcome the diabolical imagination in literature, art, and polity. Fr. Dwight Longenecker posts along these same lines.
Business plans and jobs obsolete
Mark Perry: 5.2% gain in productivity since the start of the recession has resulted in the GDP of the 4th quarter of 2010 surpassing that of the 4th quarter of 2007. We are just as productive today with 139 million people working as we were in 2007 with 146 million people working.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Congress can and must reassert itself.
George Will has a nice piece. Congress created the regulatory state, and the courts have upheld its power to create agencies that actually write laws. But the monster is swallowing the power and authority of Congress by encouraging the passage of stupid laws presumed to be perfected by regulatory agencies and courts. Congress has the power to destroy this Hydra, or at least chop off a number of its heads.
Less optimistic about Egypt
For those romantics blind to the historic fact that most revolutions don't turn out well for the governed, David Warren and Caroline Glick have some sobering thoughts about Egypt and the Middle East.
Everyone is stuck between a rock and a hard place: the regime, the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Arab Christians, the U.S., and Israel. 64 million Egyptians have been led for years by a dictator who kept peace with Israel and refused to get his oil-less nation sucked into war. What those 64 million people want and who will lead them in the future I do not know.
Note: When I was teaching geography twenty years ago, Egypt had a population of 60 million. Its static population is part of the problem of the Middle East: despair. But the despair is not "for the Palestinian people," but for themselves. Living in the midst of fabulous wealth controlled by tribal petroleum plutocrats led by fascists who claim to be devout Muslims will make a man's blood boil.
Everyone is stuck between a rock and a hard place: the regime, the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Arab Christians, the U.S., and Israel. 64 million Egyptians have been led for years by a dictator who kept peace with Israel and refused to get his oil-less nation sucked into war. What those 64 million people want and who will lead them in the future I do not know.
Note: When I was teaching geography twenty years ago, Egypt had a population of 60 million. Its static population is part of the problem of the Middle East: despair. But the despair is not "for the Palestinian people," but for themselves. Living in the midst of fabulous wealth controlled by tribal petroleum plutocrats led by fascists who claim to be devout Muslims will make a man's blood boil.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
