Tag Archives: nationalism

James Baldwin on Death

Posted on February 2, 2014 by

Nicely, nicely said: Life is tragic simply because the earth turns, and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of … Continue reading →

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My “Candide” Retort to Margaret MacMillan

Posted on January 29, 2014 by

It’s 2014. A hundred years ago, the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand initiated a series of calamitous events that brought on World War I. And the way WWI ended (with the Versailles Treaty) led to yet another series … Continue reading →

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The New Hitler Youth of India

Posted on November 30, 2012 by

With India’s rise on the global stage, it would seem valuable to know the attitudes of its most elite educated teenagers, and Dilip D’Sousa at the Daily Beast reports that a not inconsiderable number of them harbor fascist sentiments: My … Continue reading →

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Newt Grointwitch Tops Willard (Mitt Romney) in South Carolina

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

Evangelicals in South Carolina have spoken. For president, they prefer a thrice-married serial adulterer and unapologetic Herderian to a Mormon. Informative. Who ever said the world was perfect? Andrew Sullivan lays out a plausible route forward for Republicans this year: … Continue reading →

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“The Jesus Candidate”: Rick Santorum’s Messiah Complex

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

ABC News reports a weird rally declaration made by Rick Santorum this week. He sees himself as the presidential “Jesus candidate”: Santorum told the audience about a radio interview out of Boston he did earlier today [Thursday]. According to Santorum, … Continue reading →

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Thomas Jefferson, Johann Gottfried Herder, and the Revived American Cult of Muscular Christian Nationalism

Posted on January 3, 2012 by

A bit of (good) advice for politicized Christian fundamentalists from Rob Boston: Jefferson and Madison worked together to end the government-established church in Virginia and guarantee religious liberty for all. Jefferson coined the metaphor of a “wall of separation between … Continue reading →

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Issues in Critical Thinking: Bertrand Russell on Human Irrationality

Posted on October 23, 2011 by

The following sentences begin Bertrand Russell’s essay, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish”, which was first published in 1943: Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. Throughout a long life, I have looked diligently for evidence in favour of … Continue reading →

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On the Road to Weimar: Pat Buchanan’s New Book

Posted on October 14, 2011 by

Pat Buchanan thinks America’s headed for Weimar-era levels of inflation. At least, this is what Jeffrey Kuhner claims in a favorable review of Buchanan’s new book, Suicide of a Superpower (2011), for the Washington Times: Mr. Buchanan states that the exploding debt threatens … Continue reading →

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American Tea Party Politics Arrives in China?

Posted on December 27, 2010 by

Mark Lilla, writing in the New Republic, tells a fascinating anecdote, which occurred just a few years back, of an end-of-semester discussion that he had in his office with a bright student from Beijing that he taught at the University … Continue reading →

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Treat China Like the Old Soviet Union: E. J. Dionne’s Awful Solution to America’s (Perceived) Decline

Posted on December 13, 2010 by

E. J. Dionne, in a recent piece at Truthdig, gives a tart and accurate summary of the past decade: [I]n the first decade of the new millennium, our country squandered its international advantages, degraded its power with a long and … Continue reading →

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The Ground-Zero Mosque: Barack Obama Rejects Muslim Collective Guilt for 9-11 and Affirms American Values

Posted on August 14, 2010 by

President Barack Obama does not oppose the building of the Cordoba Mosque a few blocks down from the former site of the World Trade Center. And this is why I support the man. When it counts, Barack Obama is a man of the Enlightenment. … Continue reading →

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American Herderite Watch: Tim Pawlenty Believes American Muslims Bear Collective Guilt for 9-11

Posted on August 11, 2010 by

Rather than treating people as Lockean individuals, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, attempting to score points with the Herderite Tea Party base of the Republican Party, treats American Muslims as collectively responsible for 9-11. This from the August 9, 2010 … Continue reading →

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Henry James’ “The Last of the Valerii”: Breaking the Spell of Religion?

Posted on July 3, 2010 by

Henry James has an intriguing, but not widely known, tale of a person coming under the spell of a religious mania. James titled it: The Last of the Valerii The short story is set in Rome, and the narrator is the godfather of an … Continue reading →

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