thoughts in and out of season
James Kalb A slice of life from never-never land: Trusting priest was betrayed. A Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Cleveland, “known as a gentle man—a vegan, yogi and massage therapist,” was arrested for growing marijuana in the rectory. His friends blame the misfortune on betrayal by a drifter the priest had taken in and … More ...
What do you do with political terms? In the interview, I said that libertarianism and conservatism are theoretically opposed, because one makes freedom the final standard and one does not, but that on practical issues today they are often consistent. I also suggested that many people who call themselves libertarian are mostly conservative philosophically but … More ...
After the 2Blowhards interview I got into a discussion with one of the commenters on his own blog that began with a request that I respond to a paper he had written on Emerson and related topics. Here’s an edited version that tries to pick out the parts most likely to interest readers of Turnabout… More ...
Those who can tear themselves away from 2Blowhards should be sure to follow Tongue Tied, another blog we run in the right hand column. It helps keep up with the state of free speech and tolerance in today’s pluralistic world. Some current examples:
The accepted wisdom about Islam is that it has to accept pluralism to become a good citizen of the modern world. “Pluralism,” as a practical matter, is the view that the only public truth about religion is that no religion is better than any other and all religion ought to be kept private. Christianity, it … More ...
Conservatives are always expecting a wakeup call that will rouse the American people so they will rise up, recapture the citadel, and restore sanity and good government. None ever comes. The most recent failed wakeup call was September 11. For a while it seemed significant that people were putting up “God Bless America” stickers, and … More ...
American conservatives long admired England as the homeland of Civilized Standards. Russell Kirk wrote a whole book on America’s British Culture because he wanted to refute multiculturalism. It’s worth noting though how their ideas of civilized standards now operate:
Another priority for paleo (or traditionalist) conservatives should be making connection with other tendencies of thought that are based on some of the same concerns and understandings. If trads and paleos are on to something real about modern life, they won’t be the only ones to notice it.
One connectable tendency is the New Urbanism… More ...
A correspondent asks:
What should the mainstream conservative movement be doing (that it’s currently not) that would help society? How might Buchanan and paleocons become formidable?
My reply:
… More ...I don’t have any magical solutions. It seems to me the most important battle the paleocons and people like Buchanan should carry on is at the level
A way to respond to the new Bush immigration plan: Stop Amnesty for Illegal Aliens!