Judge, if You Must, but Curb the Glee: Notes from Las Vegas by Kevin D. Williamson

Judge, if You Must, but Curb the Glee: Notes from Las Vegas by Kevin D. Williamson

But what about vengeance? The desire for it is not necessarily wrong or discreditable. But I do not want to put that particular loaded gun in the hands of the people chanting “Burn, baby, burn!” at executions or entrust it to the political system that brought us both Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Anger makes you stupid, and self-righteous anger makes you stupid and dangerous. And if there is to be a mode of modern citizenship that has a particularly Christian character, it should begin not with arrogant crusading and joyous heretic-burning but with moral and political humility. Spend a little time here in Las Vegas and tell me whether you think we should moderate our expectations of democracy just a teensy bit. If we really believe what we say we believe — that we are made of the same stuff as R. Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein — then perhaps it is enough for us to seek to secure decent and regular administration of the law, reasonable public order, such prevention of harm as we can manage, and a measure of rehabilitation for those who can be rehabilitated. If we must judge and punish — and we must — then let us do so only because it is a mournful necessity, not for the love of the act itself and its power, or for the seductive pleasures afforded to us by detestation, reckoning, and hatred.

Another very thoughtful piece from Kevin Williamson touching on justice, vengeance, original sin, redemption, King David, and other small matters...

God Is Better Than Government at Healing the Human Heart by David French

God Is Better Than Government at Healing the Human Heart by David French

That doesn’t mean we don’t think hard about what government can do. But it does mean that we should major in the majors and minor in the minors. Government draws us in because it is so powerful. Theoretically it can do so much. But its power is in the hands of fallen men, and its actions and programs consistently reflect that sad fact. Fallen men populate the church, yes, but Christians also know that Christ said, “Where two or three gather in My name, there I am with them.” 

Given the choice of allocating my limited time between seeking religious renewal and government intervention, we should prioritize renewal. And given government’s oft-repeated pattern of hurting when it tries to help, I’ll maintain my skepticism of even its well-intentioned efforts. Facing declining life expectancy and rising despair, we urgently need to ask, “What or who is most effective at healing the human heart?” In that contest, believing conservatives should take God over government every time.

Very thoughtful piece from a great thinker.

Age of Amnesia by Joel Kotkin

Age of Amnesia by Joel Kotkin

The spread of mass education may have exemplified the promise of liberal civilization. But, without an understanding and appreciation of what allowed it to flourish, it could also accelerate its dissolution. The reduction and reshaping of the past are essential to undermining liberal democracy. The great exemplars of the past—Washington, Madison, Burke, Jefferson, Lincoln, Churchill—all warned that human beings are not necessarily good and, for that reason, power must be dispersed and restrained not concentrated. Yet we are witnessing the creation of a society, as envisioned by HG Wells, controlled by a credentialed elite. This “emergent class of capable men,” Wells wrote, should take upon itself the task of “controlling and restricting…the non-functional masses.” This new elite, he predicted, would replace democracy with “a higher organism” of what he called “the New Republic.”

Joel Kotkin is increasingly insightful and always interesting.

Everyone Quotes The Declaration, But Not Many Read It by Nathanael Blake

Everyone Quotes The Declaration, But Not Many Read It by Nathanael Blake

However, the substance of the Declaration is an extended indictment of the King of England for his crimes against the colonists. Reading the whole Declaration, we see a people aggrieved that their self-government is being usurped, their traditional rights encroached upon, and their common-law inheritance discarded.

I always love when someone takes the time to truly try to understand our foundational documents.

How To Unlock Jefferson’s Original Opening Of The Declaration Of Independence by Robert Curry

How To Unlock Jefferson’s Original Opening Of The Declaration Of Independence by Robert Curry

The American Founders had a very different conception of rights. Unalienable rights are not granted by the ruler to his subjects but are natural, essential, and inherent to everyone. The Founders’ concept of the source of our rights was revolutionary then and is still a wonderful thing to contemplate today.

I just love American History!

Burning Indignation by Theodore Dalrymple

Burning Indignation by Theodore Dalrymple

If the Coyne case illustrates anything other than merely itself, it is the superiority of the Christian to the dogmatically secular view of a situation like this (and I write as a nonbeliever). The Christian accepts, without the need for second thought, the duty of charity toward others; he can respond unself-consciously to his natural feelings of sympathy for such as Davies because he knows that we are all sinners, and that there but for the grace of God go we. He can also extend mercy to Coyne.

This is a brilliant analysis of why the secular worldview is incapable of calling something good or bad, which in turn leads to more atrocious behavior.