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Thought Experiment

Originally published on my tumblr

I’ve been kicking this one around for a while now:

Suppose you traveled back in time to Europe and the United States circa 1850. You explain to the political and economic elites of the time that their decision to industrialize through the use of coal and petroleum will set in motion a chain of...

What Do We Think of Barack Obama?

Orginally published on my tumblr.

This has been on my mind a bit in the last several weeks. Of course, the fact that he succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden raises his esteem in the eyes of many Americans greatly, and (no doubt) will help boost his chances at reelection. But that achievement, as worthy as it is, shouldn’t...

Belated 9/11 Thoughts

Originally published on my tumblr.

For me, the thing to remember about 9/11 is that, when people (Fareed Zakaria for example) say that America overreacted to the attacks, it’s because they tapped into a lot of dark currents in American society that had been growing for years beforehand. As Chris Hayes documented masterfully in 2006, nostalgia for...

Post-Revolution

Originally published on my tumblr.

I was very sad to hear that Tony Judt, the historian, died recently. He was well-known, of course, for his book, Postwar, his critical statements about Israel, and, most movingly, his struggle with ALS, which ultimately killed him. What I particularly liked about him was his ability, as a good historian...

Stoicism and Liberalism

Originally published on my tumblr.

Boing Boing recently ran some essays by William Irvine (see the first, second, and the third) which purport to offer the teachings of the Stoic philosophers as relevant to the modern world. I think there’s something to that: I know I have come back many times in the last few years...

Christmas in a Post-Christian Age

Originally published on my tumblr.

About a year ago, a friend of mine from college wrote a very moving essay about his coming to grips with his atheism during the Christmas season, having been raised as an evangelical Christian. (Sadly, the post has been lost to linkrot.) I found it moving, not only because of my friendship with him...

Star Trek at 50

Originally posted on my tumblr.

Since other people are sharing their appreciation of Star Trek today, I should throw in mine, too.

One of the things that strikes me about Star Trek these days is how much, as a shared culture and ideal, it has transcended the shortcomings of its creators. And I don’t mean just in the trivial...

What Are College Sports For?

Originally posted on my tumblr.

They’re not for child rape, I think we can all agree. But the scandal¹ of Jerry Sandusky is the latest in a series of events calling into question the outsized influence of sports programs (football and basketball, mainly) in American universities. Too many schools today are basically sports franchises with a...

Sincerely, L. Cohen

My first car was a late ’80s Toyota Tercel that was the color of a jug of supermarket eggnog. In my older brother’s younger years, he briefly (and unsuccessfully) got into fixing up and reselling used cars, which is how this car came to end up in the back lot of my parents’ house and, later, into my possession. The...