Paging Mr. Moynihan
“We can only hope that Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s approach to politics will be rediscovered. Books like American Burke should function as essential guides in this most necessary search.”
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A collection of 57 articles.
Boredom: a Double-Edged Sword, for Individuals and Society
“Compared to these other negative emotional states, boredom might seem like a trivial complaint. However, boredom can cause real problems if not directed towards healthy and constructive behaviors.”
How to Be a Non-Racist
“Non-racism, thus understood, implies colorblindness, not in the sense of literally not seeing skin color, but in the sense of treating it as insignificant.”
Changing My Mind on Universal Basic Income
“With 14 million Americans suddenly plunged into indefinite unemployment, has UBI become more popular? It seems like the answer is yes and no.”
Rep. Susan Wild’s Bipartisan Initiative for Pandemic-related Child Care
“For Rep. Wild, this bill might also provide a foundation for downstream economic normalization; if child care is more accessible, the argument goes, then it becomes less burdensome for parents to return to work, seek out new potential employment, or continue their own education.”
Do Americans Vote Too Much?
The United States does not have low voter turnout; Americans actually are asked to vote too much, and this hurts our democracy.
Identity Politics and the Death of Moral Imagination
“The problem—as has been said so many times before—is that identity politics takes a kernel of truth about embodied human experience and pushes it to its destructive conclusion.”
Searching for Common Meaning in the Age of Polarization
“It is not between Red and Blue states; it is a battle about whether there is meaning outside of politics.”
Partisan Identity and the Death of Representative Governance
“Importing these ideas into your sense of self—to think of yourself as a liberal or a conservative—is irrational and corrosive. It is a recipe for error.”
White Jesus and the “Other” Jesus: When Activists Come for Gods
“A civilization that worships at such altars is one that no longer believes in itself, that considers itself irredeemably guilty, sinful or evil…”
Why Cancel Culture Won’t Last
“This is the thing about moral panics—while threatening, they can be illuminating.”
How Close We Are to Unravelling
“The religion of Social Justice is redolent of the old paganism but without even the mortal transcendence of its pantheons.”
Lessons from Antiquity for Our Current Pandemic
“Thucydides subsequently goes on to say, ‘In other respects also Athens owed to the plague the beginnings of a state of unprecedented lawlessness.’”
If There Were Ever a Time for Bipartisanship, It Is Now
“COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity for governments to build trust. According to a recent update of the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in government around the world spiked by 11 points between January and May 2020.”
Jordan Peterson and Carl Jung’s Worldviews Have Been Greatly Oversimplified
“With respect to McManus and Hamilton, who have admittedly produced a very interesting article, there are characterizations and theoretical points within their article that I feel need to be addressed.”
To Stand up to China, the West Must First Re-Discover Itself
“The lack of backbone displayed by Western leaders when dealing with China is symbolic of the malaise that has been gripping Western culture for decades.”
The Many Problems with Marxism
“I recently met up with an old friend, a staunch Marxist, at a traditional Viennese café to catch up and talk about our political differences. After hours of discussion, he admitted, ‘Well, ultimately, it’s a question of faith.’”
Merion West: Why We Do What We Do
“Just as some married couples renew their vows, we, as a publication, will take a moment to do the same and explain why we’re still doing what we’re doing.”
Nietzschean Thirst
“Those known as ‘the rabble,’ whom Zarathustra describes as fit only to be slaves, ultimately dwell within every human soul. It is that lowly thing in each of us which must be pitilessly overcome.”
I Didn’t Vote for Trump But Strongly Oppose His Impeachment
“However, now—after seeing how he has been treated by Democrats since he was elected—he will have my vote in 2020.”
Enough Empathy: the Case for Punching Down
“…because heedless empathy for the worst among us is currently leading us on the downward-sloping path to mediocrity and beyond.”
Editor’s Choice: The Best Interviews of 2019
As is tradition at Merion West, here are the editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West interviews of 2019.
Editor’s Choice: The Best Articles of 2019
As is tradition at Merion West, here are the editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West articles of 2019.
As the Year Closes: Appreciating One’s Political Opponents
“In this spirit I would like to thank all the many individuals who have written or commented on my writing the last year, especially those who have offered sincere and interesting criticisms that have helped me develop my understanding of the world.”
Why Everyone Is Talking about Josh Hawley
“Hawley talks again and again about the importance of community and criticizes those on both sides of the political aisle who pay fealty to an individualism that puts the self-creating individual at the summit of what constitutes the good.“
Somewhere Between the Marquis de Sade and the Twist
“…nor could [Houellebecq] have emerged from the hundreds of wallet-siphoning creative writing MFA programs, whose grasp on the American literary world has sanitized literature to an unreadable degree.”
Jordan Peterson, Nietzsche, and Avoiding Living for Happiness Alone
“The resistance displayed towards these important thinkers is most regrettable, and for all the Complacent Men quick to criticize them, doing so makes you no closer to achieving your ever so desired—and elusive—’happiness.’”
Having Lived in the Marshall Islands, I Understand Greta’s Concerns
“In 2016, fleeing Venezuela’s socialism, I took a teaching job in Majuro, the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.”
Where Tolstoy Departs from Dostoevsky
“Tolstoy was not naïve in thinking that social and political reform would end all forms of evil in human life. Like Dostoevsky, he was very well aware that much wickedness flowed from the pride and vanity of men like Napoleon or the Russian tsars.”
Sen. David Perdue: Making Washington More Results-Oriented
“We need to go back to what the Founding Fathers and Mothers had in mind: a citizen-legislator—somebody that comes here, tries to get results, and then goes home and lets the next person try.”
Dostoevsky’s Extremely Thoughtful Critique of the Left
“People do not truly want an end to suffering in all cases…They need challenges in order to feel the thrill of victory, guilt over their actions to have a chance at redemption, and the possibility of rejection and hatred to feel any deep form of love.”
One-on-One with Howard Dean
“So I’m going to answer your question, but I want to preface it by saying most people do not vote on policies. They think they do, but they don’t. Even smart, educated people who think they do even more so don’t.”
We Will All Be Banned
“TechCrunch uses the word ‘hate’ so many times—and so without any obvious meaning, that it strikes me as likely a form of attempted Pavlovian conditioning.”
When We Make Political Pawns of Children
“Every January, toddlers hold signs with messages that they cannot possibly understand. But children also hold signs they might passively understand, and teenagers hold signs they probably understand, if only imperfectly.”
On Trump Hatred: A Plea from the Heart(land)
“Many features of this region have stood out—but few more prominently than the generosity of its people. They are devoted to their churches; they volunteer their time; they give to charity; they start charities; they adopt children.”
The Enduring Relevance of Philip K. Dick
“We turned to technology as a substitute for our inability to deal with the persistent riddles of existence and the lack of meaning in our life in a post-God era.”
Interview with Former Rep. Tom Davis: Can Earmarks Fix Congress?
“In my district, I wasn’t just Tom Davis—I was ‘Mr. Woodrow Wilson Bridge.’ I was the guy who closed Morton and got 3,000 acres donated to the county. Those were the kinds of tangible efforts where people may not like my party, but they saw some redeeming qualities in me to keep me around.”
Slavoj Žižek, Jordan Peterson, and Atheists Who Believe in God
“Peterson’s importance is his powerful and influential insistence that religion is not arbitrary or malevolent—that in every developed form we encounter it, religious stories are archetypal of the human condition in a way nothing else can or ever will be.”
Lincoln Chafee Joins Erich Prince: Lessons from Running for President
“In my opening statement I said, ‘In thirty years of public service, I never had a scandal.’ The murmur of boos in the audience—I guess they saw that as a dig at the other candidates.”
The Cinnabon Made Me Do It: Surprising Influences on Moral Behavior
“These factors seem to have a demonstrable impact on our behavior, and yet are morally irrelevant in the sense that they should not matter to what a morally virtuous person would do. What should we make of results like these?”
What Notre Dame Says about Civilization
“The destruction of Notre Dame has shaken our complacent belief in the permanence of things and the ability for our culture to last without care and cultivation. It reveals and reminds us that life is a fragile thing, and even the strongest bastions dedicated to the eternal can still be brought down
Interview: Vice President Mondale Comments on Today’s Democratic Party
“I told one of the other senators, ‘You’re a very pleasant, sweet person. But deep down, the public wants a son-of-a-gun. You’ve got to get stuff done.’”
Editor’s Choice: The Best Political Speeches of the Past 55 Years
A few recent political speeches worthy of the history books.
Interview: Jonathan Haidt on What Underlies Polarization in America
“In a sense, the Founding Fathers feared democracy because of the tendency of people to be carried away by their passion and easily led astray by demagogues, and I think that our modern polarization, augmented by social media, could well bring their worst fears to reality.”
Editor’s Choice: The Best Articles of 2018
A look back at our editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West articles of 2018.
Editor’s Choice: The Best Interviews of 2018
A look back at our editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West interviews of 2018.
Analysis: Why Is Iowa a Purple State?
What factors make Iowa in play for both Republicans and Democrats?
Interview with Nassir Ghaemi: Can Mental Illness Make More Effective Politicians?
“One of the basic concepts I had was that if there are some benefits to having some depression manic symptoms; the corollary is that there are some limitations to being normal and mentally healthy.”
Interview: How Dollars and Cents Propel Sensational Media Coverage
“I suggest that the ebbing of polarization has already been occurring. We’re just not aware of it because of what’s presented to us in the media. If you look at the polling numbers, Democrats and Republicans are minorities; the plurality of Americans identify as independents.”
Jordan Peterson and Living with My Disability
This article is more personal. I have some experience with Peterson’s description of suffering, and I believe that what he says is right.
Life After Hate: A Conversation with a Former Skinhead
“You can’t be a Neo-Nazi and be happy in life. It’s 100% impossible to be those two things at the same time.”
The Man Who Chronicled the Abuses at Holmesburg Prison
“So unless you are Seymour Hersh, who has The New York Times backing him, or some young activists or aspiring journalist who’s willing to work an issue, [thorny issues such as these medical experiments] can fall through the floorboards.”
The Biggest Problem When It Comes to Polarization
“As Mayor Koch used to say: ‘If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.’”
What Feminism Means Today: Speaking with Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers
“[Feminism today sometimes] sees the world as a zero-sum struggle between Venus and Mars. But most women want equality, not war. Men aren’t their adversaries. They are their brothers, sons, husbands, and friends. We are in this together.”
Philadelphia’s Homeless Are Finding New Hope Thanks to This Organization
Now a year has passed from that day at St. John’s, and all Kreuzburg can think about is running and the effect it’s had on his life.
How One Organization Is Taking on Partisan Polarization
Unite America is on a mission to bring the moderates back to government.
The Culture of Machismo in Mexico Harms Women
I was twelve years old, and a man on the street was already verbally harassing me. He looked at me as if I were a juicy steak instead of an innocent child.