Thursday, April 1, 2010

Quotes and Links

Spengler on The Accusations against the Pope

The Obamalyptic mood in the White House seems to have infected the cultural left generally. Thirty-year-old news is dragged daily into the headlines to make it appear that some dreadful truth has been dragged out of the Vatican vaults, demonstrating Pope Benedict XVI's culpability in child abuse. It is hard to avoid the impression that the nihilists have a sense of empowerment as never before.

There's something ugly in the air. The two central institutions of the West are the Throne of St. Peter and the Oval Office. That is not an exaggeration, for the Catholic model in Europe and the American model are the two modes of life that the West has developed. When Catholic universal empire failed with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, and was buried by Napoleon, the United States emerged as an alternative model; the non-ethnic nation founded on Christian principles albeit without an explicit tie to a particular Christian confession.

For the first time in history the barbarians have breached the citadel; to have Barack Obama in the White House is the cultural equivalent of electing Madonna to the papacy. America, the source of a civil religion that held together the world's only remaining superpower, is committed to its own self-demolition. Nihilists around the world are in a triumphant mood and believe that it is time to mop up the remnants of their enemies everywhere.

How Should Conservatives Deal with the Left's Disrespect and Lack of Empathy?

The writer of the article experienced something I can relate to.  The writer had  his old professor,  was a leftist, tell him to shut up because his views were unacceptable, i.e. Conservative, not Liberal.  I just had a relation of mine do this to me. 
 
Here is the prize quote from the article:
 
Jonathan Haidt, a professor at the University of Virginia and author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, found that conservatives could more readily put themselves in the shoes of liberals and understand morally where they were coming from. The reverse was not true of liberals. They have little understanding of those with opposing views to their own.
 
It is my theory that if Leftists were open-minded and caring and wonderful as they thought, they would be Conservatives.  I became a Conservative, a convert from Leftism, because I actually tried to understand what the former bad side was like.

Is China's great run about to come to and?

"The United States is much too big for one man to trash, but Barack "Yes, we can" Obama and his entourage are giving it a try. They're making progress...

Isaachar Eilenburg, Tzeda LaDerek

 a little light will dispel much darkness.


No comments: