Like a distant memory, it starts with a vague impression coming to light at an odd time. A shape forms, maybe colors, a voice or a smell. And then the thought rushes to a central point in our consciousness: our civilization is dying. People start to see the conflict as more than one political party...Read more
Israel-Hamas conflict shows true nature of liberalism
It benefits those in power that people find it difficult to understand the nature of political categories. Left and right best serve power when blurred and overlapping so that people choose parties by issue, keeping constant conflict afloat while failing to ever resolve anything that might threaten power. How many people who you meet on...Read more
The void of the self
That which has infinite need will consume infinite amounts of what is around it. Not only black holes but many objects in your life fit this criterion. Alcoholism, rage, misery, self-pity… the list goes on. But the most common void is the self. When leaders proclaim equality, they have created a cause. A cause then...Read more
Working around the middle class
When you are entirely dependent on one entity, you have two choices: either you can work toward its ends and have it reward you, or work around it and find some way to protect yourself from its wrath. In democratic societies, the middle class becomes the entity on which society at large depends. From the...Read more
The kindergarten teacher
Most of us experience our first introduction to the adult world on the first day of school. They usher us into a big room, collect supplies that they will redistribute to others, and teach us the fundamental principle of adulthood: everyone must all get along. This mentality — unassailable because it means well — shows...Read more
Interview with an internet troll
Every society possesses taboos. Healthy societies ban destructive things; dying societies ban dissent. In the distributed totalitarian system of modernity, citizens enforce rules on one another through ostracism and name-calling. In response to this, a community of “trolls” sprung up to bait people with forbidden knowledge and draw them into contradiction when they cannot confront...Read more
The Elizabeth Warren attraction
“Insanity in individuals is something rare — but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” With these words F.W. Nietzsche described the situation we find ourselves in with modern politics: insanity which punishes those who speak out against it, like a perverse take on The Emperor’s New Clothes. Voters tend toward the...Read more
Good to the good, and bad to the bad
Human reality separates from cosmic reality because human minds are closed systems. If the human does not force his mind to perceive the outside, and makes it analytical decisions based on that, the mind forms a feedback loop where it echoes back to itself as truth what it wishes to be true. In Republic, Plato...Read more
Israel leads the way to revival of nationalism
Conservatives tend to support the idea of Israel because conservatives believe in upholding tradition and the practicality of nationalism. When everyone in a state is of the same type, government is less needed, and society grows from within instead of through carrot-and-stick manipulation by a controlling force. One of the larger Israeli newspapers, Haaretz, has...Read more
A species of poseurs
Where is the root of our downfall? Clearly we are fallen. Some claim Christianity, others democracy and its precursor, equality. An older origin exists however. The fundamental moral challenge to humans involves getting outside of our heads. We are not born solipsists, but social interaction makes us so, paradoxically by causing us to view ourselves...Read more
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