While researching this post on the phrase “speaking truth to power,” I discovered that it originated among Quakers, and I promised that I’d write something soon about Quaker pacifism. I had planned that this post would be that “something.” But … Continue reading →
Norman Geras is a man who has thought long and hard about the Holocaust. Recently, he tackled the controversial question of whether the Holocaust was, “in some significant moral sense, singular or unique in the long catalogue of calamities that … Continue reading →
A couple of days ago the news sounded good–or at least what passes for good in the seemingly interminable attempt to talk North Korea out of developing nuclear weapons: North Korea agreed Monday to stop building nuclear weapons and allow … Continue reading →
There are all types of bloggers. I’m a practitioner of the long essay form, for example. And Bill Whittle is a practitioner of the LONG esssay form. When you write LONG, as Bill does, you have to be very very … Continue reading →
[For Part I, go here.] It doesn’t take a therapist to note that many people, when struck by the tragic loss of a loved one, are angry as well as sad. That anger can be unleashed in a variety of … Continue reading →
Who is this woman? The serene young artist, glowing with life: The worn-out older woman, lines of age etched deeper by profound grief: She’s Kathe Kollwitz, one of the greatest graphic artists of all time, in two of her extraordinary … Continue reading →
In this thread about the decision to drop the atomic bomb, anonymous asks: Why didn’t they drop a nuke on an unpopulated area and say, ‘See that goddamn horror? We’ll drop another one on your heads in two days if … Continue reading →
Roger Simon recently linked to this essay by Dr. Robert Harman, which attempts to analyze terrorists and our reaction to them, and in particular the symbiotic psychological connection between terrorists and their Western apologists. Dr Harman is an orgonomist. Huh, … Continue reading →
Both Austin Bay and Clive Davis recently cited this famous essay by literary critic Paul Fussell in their posts on the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb. I had read Fussell’s 1988 essay, provocatively titled “God Bless … Continue reading →
A few days from now will be the sixtieth anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The rightness of that decision is still being vigorously debated. Here’s an article from the Weekly Standard (hat tip: Austin Bay) … Continue reading →
Why is Jane Fonda still hated? And why am I bringing this old subject up now? Well, it’s connected with the process of thinking about my “A mind is a difficult thing…” series once again. It’s also connected to a … Continue reading →
“Coming Home”–it was the title of a 1978 movie about returning Vietnam vets, starring (of all people, adding insult to injury) Jane Fonda. I saw it and don’t remember it very well, but I thought of it when I heard … Continue reading →