Spending this cold winter’s day starting a Mises Academy course on The Interwar Years and enjoying coffee and hot chocolate : )
What My Day Looks Like
Tag: foreign policy
Liberalism and Mobilization
Here is my most recent essay for the World War I course I’m taking from Mises Academy. Liberalism and Mobilization During World War I Based on the readings, how did the broad social and military mobilization for the war contradict the liberal civilization that Europe had developed by the last third of the 19th century? In this essay we will first briefly define what liberalism means, and then explore the influence of liberalism during the late 19th century in Germany, France, Britain, Austro-Hungary, and Russia. After understanding the scope of liberalism, we will look at the consequences of mobilization…
Why My Conscience Will Not Allow Me to Vote for Romney
I am afraid this is beating a dead horse, but there are several reasons for dredging up the “to vote or not to vote” issue again:
1) The horse may be dead, but it is an important horse. There are many subjects that I disagree with other people about, but I figure it isn’t a big deal, and is not worth publicly disagreeing. However, for anyone who has discussed this issue in person with me, you will know I’m passionate about what I believe. It is no small matter, this comes down to our basic assumptions about the role of government and the duty of the Christian. It is not to be taken lightly.
In Defense of Liberty
My latest post, The Lesser of Two Evils, resulted in quite the controversy. I had a feeling about that, so I wasn’t completely surprised. I really hesitated to publish it because I knew the topic was so loaded. I have compiled a list of arguments against my position, and I’d like to take the time to respond to each of those. 1) A person must use the “lesser of two evils” principle and vote for the candidate who has the best chance of winning. I don’t see why this is necessary. We are called to do what is right. As long…
The Lesser of Two Evils
The Republican National Convention has been nothing short of a complete overthrow of any pretensions of justice, as Dana Milbank of the Washington Post explains. “The Romney campaign had taken pains to stifle the Paul rebellion, by denying him a speaking role, expediting the roll call, changing party rules and even unseating Paul delegates from Maine.” I haven’t even bothered to follow the events because it sickens me to think of the utter lack of principles, the blatant disregard for integrity, and the deep animosity against the libertarian movement. And regardless of the Republican Party, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates have…
What the 4th of July Should Be
I need to preface this with a confession, taken from my latest Facebook status. “I’m afraid I’m a hopeless introvert.” It is true. Probably part of my aversion to 4th of July parades, county fairs, and all those fun American things is that I just don’t like people much. I mean, there are particular people I like, and some I like very much, but I find the general population to be so insipid, close-minded, self-centered, and utterly boring that I don’t really care much for being around people. Under certain circumstances, I enjoy watching people, but I find it hard…
Coming Soon: Path of Grass
While progress was slightly delayed, I’m on track to get Path of Grass published in the next month or two. Actually, it might be more like two or three months, just because I have to be patient and wait for other people who can’t devote every waking moment to preparing my book for publication. Why is this exciting and why should you be excited about Path of Grass? As a friend of mine at a recent Mises Circle said, we’re not going to achieve more liberty by voting for “better” rulers. Look at the “freedom loving” Tea Party candidates who…
Thus Begins My Second Weekend
I may have said this before, but working every day gives the weekend a whole new dimension. “Oh…so that’s why people are so excited about Friday nights…” I must say that my job has helped me have more sympathy for other people. In a sense, my job is bringing me out of the idealistic stage of youth. Don’t worry, it hasn’t made me entirely cynical yet, but it is slowly happening. For one thing, I understand now why some people don’t have the time to do things they like. Someone says they want to come to our Mises Circle, but…
Review of “Taking Chance”
This isn’t really a proper review, just my own rantings on the subject. 🙂 I was all excited to watch Inception tonight…but it was a little too chaotic for my parents, so we watched Taking Chance instead. It is the story of a Marine who volunteers to take the body or “remains” (as they say in the movie) from the East Coast to a little town in Montana. As I said on Facebook, it was a heartbreaking movie. Why? Because the message was so clear: War is good. War is noble. Go sacrifice your life for the “greater good,” give…
Mr. Madison’s War
I’m doing a history class this week on the War of 1812. This war has confused me and I’ve never been sure what to think of it. There are some very interesting things I’ve discovered so far. – Madison knew he wouldn’t have a chance for reelection unless he found some way to unite the country and better his public image. – The First Bank of the United States had just been disbanded, but the new owner of it (Stephen Girard) was very good friends with Madison’s Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Dallas. Girard funded about 95% of the War of…
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Liberalism and Mobilization
Here is my most recent essay for the World War I course I’m taking from Mises Academy. Liberalism and Mobilization During World War I Based on the readings, how did the broad social and military mobilization for the war contradict the liberal civilization that Europe had developed by the last third of the 19th century? In this essay we will first briefly define what liberalism means, and then explore the influence of liberalism during the late 19th century in Germany, France, Britain, Austro-Hungary, and Russia. After understanding the scope of liberalism, we will look at the consequences of mobilization…
Why My Conscience Will Not Allow Me to Vote for Romney
I am afraid this is beating a dead horse, but there are several reasons for dredging up the “to vote or not to vote” issue again:
1) The horse may be dead, but it is an important horse. There are many subjects that I disagree with other people about, but I figure it isn’t a big deal, and is not worth publicly disagreeing. However, for anyone who has discussed this issue in person with me, you will know I’m passionate about what I believe. It is no small matter, this comes down to our basic assumptions about the role of government and the duty of the Christian. It is not to be taken lightly.
In Defense of Liberty
My latest post, The Lesser of Two Evils, resulted in quite the controversy. I had a feeling about that, so I wasn’t completely surprised. I really hesitated to publish it because I knew the topic was so loaded. I have compiled a list of arguments against my position, and I’d like to take the time to respond to each of those. 1) A person must use the “lesser of two evils” principle and vote for the candidate who has the best chance of winning. I don’t see why this is necessary. We are called to do what is right. As long…
The Lesser of Two Evils
The Republican National Convention has been nothing short of a complete overthrow of any pretensions of justice, as Dana Milbank of the Washington Post explains. “The Romney campaign had taken pains to stifle the Paul rebellion, by denying him a speaking role, expediting the roll call, changing party rules and even unseating Paul delegates from Maine.” I haven’t even bothered to follow the events because it sickens me to think of the utter lack of principles, the blatant disregard for integrity, and the deep animosity against the libertarian movement. And regardless of the Republican Party, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates have…
What the 4th of July Should Be
I need to preface this with a confession, taken from my latest Facebook status. “I’m afraid I’m a hopeless introvert.” It is true. Probably part of my aversion to 4th of July parades, county fairs, and all those fun American things is that I just don’t like people much. I mean, there are particular people I like, and some I like very much, but I find the general population to be so insipid, close-minded, self-centered, and utterly boring that I don’t really care much for being around people. Under certain circumstances, I enjoy watching people, but I find it hard…
Coming Soon: Path of Grass
While progress was slightly delayed, I’m on track to get Path of Grass published in the next month or two. Actually, it might be more like two or three months, just because I have to be patient and wait for other people who can’t devote every waking moment to preparing my book for publication. Why is this exciting and why should you be excited about Path of Grass? As a friend of mine at a recent Mises Circle said, we’re not going to achieve more liberty by voting for “better” rulers. Look at the “freedom loving” Tea Party candidates who…
Thus Begins My Second Weekend
I may have said this before, but working every day gives the weekend a whole new dimension. “Oh…so that’s why people are so excited about Friday nights…” I must say that my job has helped me have more sympathy for other people. In a sense, my job is bringing me out of the idealistic stage of youth. Don’t worry, it hasn’t made me entirely cynical yet, but it is slowly happening. For one thing, I understand now why some people don’t have the time to do things they like. Someone says they want to come to our Mises Circle, but…
Review of “Taking Chance”
This isn’t really a proper review, just my own rantings on the subject. 🙂 I was all excited to watch Inception tonight…but it was a little too chaotic for my parents, so we watched Taking Chance instead. It is the story of a Marine who volunteers to take the body or “remains” (as they say in the movie) from the East Coast to a little town in Montana. As I said on Facebook, it was a heartbreaking movie. Why? Because the message was so clear: War is good. War is noble. Go sacrifice your life for the “greater good,” give…
Mr. Madison’s War
I’m doing a history class this week on the War of 1812. This war has confused me and I’ve never been sure what to think of it. There are some very interesting things I’ve discovered so far. – Madison knew he wouldn’t have a chance for reelection unless he found some way to unite the country and better his public image. – The First Bank of the United States had just been disbanded, but the new owner of it (Stephen Girard) was very good friends with Madison’s Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Dallas. Girard funded about 95% of the War of…