First Word

There are basically two different models of conservatism (more…)

Earlier, when discussing the (lack of) inherent advantage of the metric system, I promised a discussion of the alleged advantage of using a system built around multiples-of-10. (more…)

Eliza asked for a practical discussion of agrarianism in connection with modern times and I would like to respond in a series of short very focussed posts rather than trying to cover everything at once. For starters, then, the question is: does Agrarianism mean we should cease and desist from shopping for the best buy? Should we necessarily pay more for hand-made items made locally? (more…)

First, let’s lay out the landscape of the phenomenology of Halloween as it is experienced in America. Then, let’s analyze its propriety. There are two axes of analysis that I will highlight. (more…)

This may be the first east-west German reconciliation movie ever, having been begun on the east side before the wall fell, and completed after. (more…)

It was completely unexpected. With 17 games left in the season, they were seven back. Team #14 playing in City #1 had dominated the National East since the very first game of the season. For the last month, we were hoping to catch up with and hold the wild-card spot. There was no hope of taking the division. Nevertheless, when the last game was played, the group commonly known as the “Phillies” were on top, one game ahead of the group commonly known as the “Mets.” (more…)

One of the stock political villains of my Republican youth was George McGovern. As a teenager with a head addled by congeries of contradictory ideas that perhaps only the Republican Party of the second half of the twentieth century has had the audacity to simultaneously advocate (small government, yet world imperialism; low taxes, yet massive welfare state; localism, yet pro-“civil rights” movement), I saw McGovern as the epitome at once of socialism and stupidity. Never mind that there was not much content behind my judgment. (more…)

Perhaps the title is something of a stretch, but Wittgenstein does make numerous comments that fit within an agrarian outlook. Along with his distrust of science, his attitude towards culture, aesthetics, tradition, religion and life share much in common with Virgil, the Old South, the Inklings, the Vanderbilt agrarians, and to a certain extent, Jefferson. (more…)

My colleague has begun to address some of the issues of the philosophy of science (see e.g. review of Gordon Clark on science), but it is also necessary to explore some of the broader issues involved in science.

Below are a few Wittgenstein quotes on science. (more…)

The story is of a couple with a young son and daughter in East Berlin during a time period spanning the fall of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990. In the late 1970s, the father defects to the west without the rest of the family. (more…)

The basic thesis will be that neither the definition of the basic unit, nor division by ten, is particularly scientific. Once stated, the truth of the thesis (more…)

Most of us know our own national anthem and possibly even Canada’s (”O Canada”). Like most familiar things, though, we often fail to reflect on the meaning of the words. But it is worth doing. For national anthems provide a picture into the heart (more…)

Normally, one assumes the Atlanta Braves will win the National East. This year, they fumbled. But the Mets were ready (more…)

1. Every airport is perpetually undergoing major renovations.

2. In the past, check-in was usually a disagreeable experience due to the surly agent awaiting you behind the counter. But at least she was a homo sapien. Now you have to deal with a surly automated check-in machine.

3. The routine physical by the family doc in a closed room can be a bit embarrassing. The routine strip search conducted by the TSA thugs in an open arena is psychological torture. (more…)

Sometime back a non-Christian friend asked me to explain my general political and cultural outlook. Because of the position I was arguing for she mistook me for a libertarian. Below is my reply. It is somewhat simplistic, but since she was unfamiliar with some of the basic teachings of Christianity I wrote it intentionally so.

Please forgive this lapse into autobiography. The aim of First Word is to be issue-oriented not personal. But some feel for the outlook of the writers on this blog may be helpful in orienting those who have no familiarity with us.

One last thing. I write in sweeping terms which often lack nuance and qualification. Understand that I have no particular person in mind nor do I believe there are no exceptions to my generalizations. I am also aware of my own hypocrisies regarding many of the things I write. (more…)

(1) The metric system is statist.  It was imposed during the French Revolution.  Almost every other country in the world was “forced” to accept the metric system over its indigenous units of measurement.

(2) The Revolutionaries knew what there were doing.  They knew that the way a society measures things is very much a religious practice.  Look at the attempted calendar reforms of tyrannous governments.  The Soviets moved away from a seven-day week.  The French revolutionaries did something similar (each 30 day month had three ten-day weeks ending with a rest-day, the decadi).  The calendar was revised to begin the year count with the beginning of the Revolution.  Look at the use of “CE” and “BCE” in academic literature.

(3) Aside from religious motivations, centralized states used imposed “systems” to rule over their serfs more efficiently.  They love numbers and statistics and use these to further enslave their populations.  The bureaucratic state must be resisted at every level. (more…)