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As we descend into chaos

As we descend into chaos

Last updated on: July 31, 2017 at 2:13 pm by Dan Peterson

As we descend into chaos 2017-07-31T14:13:16-06:00 Dan Peterson

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Or, to vary the metaphor:
“Der Untergang der Titanic” (Willy Stöwer, 1912)
Wikimedia Commons public domain

Have any of you run across these two stories before?

“California Woman Livestreamed Dying Teen Sister on Instagram After Car Crash”

“Florida teens who recorded drowning man will not be charged in his death”

What do you think? Do such incidents merely reflect human depravity? Or do they represent something new? Perhaps a detachment from reality caused by a culture of video games and routinized Hollywood violence?

In any case, they’re disgusting.

***

And so was he:

“Scaramucci Out as Communications Director After Less Than Two Weeks”

Good riddance.

If you aren’t aware of why it’s such a transcendently good thing for Mr. Scaramucci to be show the door, you can read this, from three or four days ago:

“The Mooch: White House Communications Mis-director”

Or, if you want to see Mr. Scaramucci’s actual language — which, I warn you, is about as crude, vulgar, offensive, and obscene as English can get — you can read it here:

“Anthony Scaramucci’s absolutely bananas quotes to the New Yorker, ranked”

You may now take time out from reading this entry for a shower.

***

From historian Douglas Brinkley:

“Brinkley: Trump is ‘unfit for command'”

***

As some who’ve been reading my blog for a while may have noticed, I can’t exactly be described as a fan of Donald J. Trump. I vocally opposed him and I didn’t vote for him. I resigned from the Republican Party on the night he accepted its nomination.

However, having recently read Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benz’s 2014 book Der deutsche Widerstand gegen Hitler [“The German Resistance against Hitler”] and Lynne Olson’s wonderful new Last Hope Island, I have to register this thought:

Those opponents of Mr. Trump who call themselves “The Resistance” are giving themselves self-glorifying airs. Opposing Hitler was an extraordinarily dangerous thing to do. It required courage that I wonder whether I could have summoned up. Many of those who resisted him died horrific deaths. To oppose Mr. Trump is more likely to land you a gig on CNN or MSNBC than to send you to a concentration camp.

***

To my sorrow — I simply travel too much — I was obliged to miss this year’s Freedom Fest, the huge annual libertarian-oriented gathering in Las Vegas. (I’ve spoken at it several times.) But CNN sent a reporter, and this is a fun four-minute clip:

“Libertarians meet, talk Trump at ‘FreedomFest'”

I got a particular kick out of seeing my friend Mark Skousen, the free market economist and impresario behind Freedom Fest, dressed as Benjamin Franklin and representing Frankin in a debate with . . . Ayn Rand.

***

Here are two stories about the lamentable lack of artistic and intellectual freedom in the contemporary Middle East, and (I would add) about how the West is being enriched by its exiles:

“Comedian forced to flee his homeland”

I confess that — to my wife’s considerable disappointment — dance (whether classical ballet or modern or jazz) is the art form that finds least resonance in me. As in “essentially none.” That’s why she no longer bothers to take me. I often like the music, but I’m always hoping that the lighting will be bright enough for me to read. Still, though, I wish Ahmad Joudeh well:

“Dancing to defy ISIS”

***

Has anybody else noticed this?

I think that Ruthie Robertson’s fifteen minutes of fame may be over.

Do you remember her? She’s the “professor” at BYU-Idaho who was supposedly “fired” for her support of LGBTQIA rights.

I’ve heard nothing about her for quite a while. It’s been nice.

***

Finally, I’ve been quoting Calvin Coolidge lately. Here’s another specimen of his insight:

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”

An excellent point.

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