The ‘no-place,’ Utopia, of Thomas More is not and cannot be, but wishing so can fade into trying to make it so. The results are at best comically futile and at worst a motive for mass murder. One reason everyone should be conservative in our ambitions is the failure of Utopian schemes. We should seek justice, but as Mandeville suggests, not perfection. We must not, because those seeking perfection (us!) are not perfect. Like the citizens of Rapture in Bioshock,... Read more
I asked for new voices and got some outstanding writers! Today we hear from the erudite James R. Harrington. James R. Harrington earned his M.A. in Ancient History at California State University Fulleron and is a member of the Torrey Honors Institute. James has been a classical educator in a variety of settings over the past thirteen years. He lives in Houston with his wife, Sharon, and their daughter. Harrington began with a series on shields in classical literature and now... Read more
The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in a Free Society is the best titled book since War and Peace if the job of a title is to sum up the contents of the book. The author Ryszard Legutko is an intellectual not prone to intellectualism or pandering to anti-intellectualism, because he suffered under socialism in Poland, resisted successfully, only to find that the Western democracies, while greatly preferable, had disturbing similarities to the old communist regime. He did not like this possibility,... Read more
Haile Selassie was a great man who ended badly. As an almost fifty-six year old who began badly, I read his life and hope to end well. How? There are lessons to be learned whether you run a non-profit, business or nation from the tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie. If you find yourself in an “empire in decline” feel free to skip my opinions about the Emperor and jump to what we can learn. On The Great Empire, the Declining... Read more
I ply with all the cunning of my art This little thing, and with consummate care I fashion it—so that when I depart, Those who come after me shall find it fair And beautiful. It must be free of flaws— Pointing no laborings of weary hands; And there must be no flouting of the laws Of beauty—as the artist understands. Through passion, yearnings infinite—yet dumb— I lift you from the depths of my own mind And gild you with my... Read more
Weep, and with tears lament when with understanding I think on death, and see how in the graves there sleeps the beauty which once for us was fashioned in the image of God, but now is shapeless, ignoble, and bare of all the graces. O how strange a thing; what is this mystery which concerns us humans? Why were we given up to decay? And why to death united in wedlock? Truly, as it is written, these things come to... Read more
My grandfather’s generation faced fascism, communism, and the Great Depression. They felt blessed if they were able to attend school through the junior-high. Indoor toilets were not a given and success might be rewarded by a second bathroom. Kids did not expect their own bedrooms or radios. My grandmothers were born without the guaranteed right to vote and drinking fountains were still segregated. I have lived in more peaceful times, with more educational opportunities, and with greater prosperity. The past... Read more
Yesterday was the Sunday of Saint Thomas: the disciple whose account ends any thought that First Century Palestine was stupidly credulous about miracles. After all, one of the most powerful group of Jewish people did not even believe in life after death! Thomas had scarring experiences we have not had nor will ever have that made reasonableness about a living Jesus hard. He had followed Jesus, Jesus had been crucified, now Thomas found reason hard, almost impossible given his experiences. He... Read more
I asked for new voices and got some outstanding writers! Today we hear from the erudite James R. Harrington. James R. Harrington earned his M.A. in Ancient History at California State University Fulleron and is a member of the Torrey Honors Institute. James has been a classical educator in a variety of settings over the past thirteen years. He lives in Houston with his wife, Sharon, and their daughter. Mr. Harrington responded to thoughts on his first post. Harrington wrote about... Read more
A Powerful Image of a Complicated Historical Disaster An image that stuck in my mad as a child was a picture of Britannia mourning the death of General Gordon: “Too Late.” she cried. The siege of Khartoum is a complicated historical topic with General Gordon the man who lost his command just before help arrived even harder to understand: sinner, saint, holy fool, genius, devil, hero. Who can be sure? General Gordon thought he was saving Egypt from Islamic extremists... Read more
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