Just punishment!
A September 11 conspirator has been found guilty in Germany, and the court has imposed the maximum possible sentence—somewhat less than 2 days per victim.
James Kalb
Women voters and the nanny state
Soccer moms, or their grandmothers, have always been the root of all evil. At least that’s what John Lott seems to be saying in his paper How Dramatically Did Women’s Suffrage Change the Size and Scope of Government? Give women the vote, it appears, and very soon you’ll have the nanny state. The paper … More ...
The caring society
“Free to be you and me,” which at bottom refers to the notion that the only moral connections among human beings are contract and the abstract solidarity of the tolerant and inclusive welfare state, has some unfortunate implications. Here’s one, which comes out of life as actually lived in our nation’s capital: Witnesses’ apathy caught … More ...
“Rights” and the Catechism
Par. 1930 of the Catechism says rights “are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority.” It doesn’t say rights are “necessary for” legitimacy, it says they are “the basis of” legitimacy. The formulation echoes the statement in the Declaration of Independence that governments are instituted to secure rights. It seems to suggest that … More ...
The “human person” as standard
Is it true that “the human person … is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions?” [Gaudium et spes, cited in par. 1881 of the Catechism.] In a sense it is, but the formulation can distract attention from the extent to which man becomes what … More ...
The arts today II
In a very idle moment I picked up the Thursday arts section of The New York Times to see what was up these days—I hadn’t looked at it for quite a while—and found 5 stories:
- “Holbrook’s Half Century as [Mark] Twain,” about an old chestnut still going strong after 50 years.
- “Race Peers Out Of
Reply to Gottfried
Paul Gottfried has a couple of complaints about the piece on traditionalism I posted here recently. He says I’m not going to be able to raise the armies of social-moral rearmament I’ll need to reconstitute a traditionalist order, and also finds fault with a couple of negative comments I made (in the piece and elsewhere) … More ...
Social progress in Britain
Things are galloping along in Tony Blair’s Cool Britannia: More diverse, caring and single – the new face of Britain. According to recent census data, the minority ethnic population rose 50% in the past 10 years or so, while in the last 20 years the proportion of married-couple households fell from 64% to 45%. … More ...
G.I. Jane goes to war
How many things are wrong with this picture? More U.S. military women edging closer to combat positions in preparations for Iraq war . The young woman grabs her M-16 and leaves her husband and 2-year-old son to go off to war. It’s played rather as a human interest story, because it’s not the sort of … More ...
What don’t I like about the Catholic Church?
I suppose the basic objection I have to the Church as an institution made up of human beings is that it reflects human small-mindedness. People just aren’t up to the truths they profess. They’d rather have something that’s more their size.