I have been reading this substack for free for a while and this article tipped me over... Common Sense has been so valuable - I have spent the past half hour or so perusing the comments and feeling a bit at home...
I am struck by the rise of the Shadow as Carl Jung described it. We are living, it seems, in a society that proclaims itself to be concerned with issues of substance, when in fact we are ignoring the needs of the people, in favor of the needs of politicians. I am frightened about where we are headed as a society. The bluster and arrogance of the politicians of our time, the attempt to deny the truth of our history, and the universities selling our young people garbage will only lead us down a path of disaster. We have been warned by those who have watched what happened in Germany prior to World War II, the Democrats as they are now, rather than how they have been in the past, are the new rise of McCarthyism and the new rise of Hitler. I fear it is coming, the destruction of freedom. People are terrified of speaking their truth due to being called racist or homophobic or worse. We are in the clutches of horror.
I am struck by the rise of the Shadow as Carl Jung described it. We are living, it seems, in a society that proclaims itself to be concerned with issues of substance, when in fact we are ignoring the needs of the people, in favor of the needs of politicians. I am frightened about where we are headed as a society. The bluster and arrogance of the politicians of our time, the attempt to deny the truth of our history, and the universities selling our young people garbage will only lead us down a path of disaster. We have been warned by those who have watched what happened in Germany prior to World War II, the Democrats as they are now, rather than how they have been in the past, are the new rise of McCarthyism and the new rise of Hitler. I fear it is coming, the destruction of freedom. People are terrified of speaking their truth due to being called racist or homophobic or worse. We are in the clutches of horror.
Are the three murders post a lament or simply bitching? But no solution was offered, only complaints! She infers involuntary confinement by forcing someone into a car but, that’s too brutal for Republicans. I can’t understand why she’s bitching about Republicans?
I found the bit about Bard's "decanonization" to be especially interesting. Campuses across the country are rushing to purge their environs of anything that might be deemed "harmful" or "violent" by the 21st century's fundamentalist, woke metric.
I graduated from Kenyon College, mascot: the Lords and the Ladies (a tip of the hat to George Kenyon, 2nd Baron Kenyon who put up a generous amount of money to help found the college).
Last year, an effort was underway to eliminate the Lords and Ladies in favor of something . . . more, err, anodyne.
Apparently - according to various staffers at the venerable college newspaper, The Kenyon Collegian - "[t]he Lords and Ladies represent a rigid gender binary that does not accurately reflect the Kenyon community and the multiple identities within it. Nonbinary students, and student-athletes in particular, are forced to be identified by a name that is at least problematic and at most transphobic."
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that a lot of alumni (myself included) complained, because the issue doesn't seem to have moved forward. If it does gain any traction, rest assured I will be reporting it here.
I hear you. I am an instructor and librarian at a similar college. Insisted on sending my son to an all-male college in Virginia where men are men, and women are guests. And the definition of who is which is never confusing or confused.
There is only one all male college left in the US (non theological), right? Hampden Sydney. VMI and The Citadel used to be two good options, but alas educational choice for single gender male tertiary education is over.
First off Nellie, I always find your writing to be deeply thoughtful and certain pieces have stayed with me long after I finished reading. So really great work. Thank you.
Second, you’re 1000% correct on the policy failures of treating the mentally ill/homeless. In 2017, my boyfriend of many years did too much meth and disappeared into the streets beginning in January, he overdosed and died in June, and his body was finally recovered in October. It was deeply fucked up. Currently (what can I say I ran in some weird circles) I have four friends in the same predicament, who all have people that love and miss them and want them home. My progressive friends make me want to scream on this issue because they think they’re being kind when they’re actually being assholes. Forcing people into treatment is not a particularly pleasant image but it sure is better than the alternative of these people killing themselves or someone else.
Well, in the case that was closest to me, he went missing on the west coast while I live on the east coast. I was able to track him down once and get a wellness check but that was all I could do considering we weren’t married or related to the each other. The other people that I mentioned are also off the grid/missing. Their family members can put out a missing persons report but there’s honesty not much you can do. It really makes me think how many of these people are truly lost.
I think the real question that needs to be asked is why America is in the top 10 for the prevalence of opiate use, along with 1. Iran, 2. Afghanistan and 3. Russia, it speaks to our society!
Nellie underlines what she thinks is the repugnant sentence from the Michigan Democratic Party: the client of the public schools is not the parent but the entire community, the public! Property taxes make up about 40% of school funding, but, Not all parcels of property have children, so parents pay less than 40% of school funding. The schools receive the rest of their funding from state and federal revenue. So a few irate parents are not the only voices that are needed to be heard, the schools are serving the community that needs to be heard from.
Where do states get revenue? From their citizens' income tax, from their citizens' businesses, from their citizens' fees and licensing. It's not like the state of Michigan creates wealth or revenue. ALL government entities work for the citizens.
Nellie--appreciate the clarity of your writing along with the clean crisp presentation of stories/bits of stories.
The three murders, committed by mentally ill thugs allowed to circulate in society without arrest or place to be put away, will continue.
I stopped riding BART five years ago after a State Department Security expert told me, after his moving from a Central American post, that BART was not safe for that very reason--the mentally ill-- and that he carried a weapon while riding it into the City.
I'd like to see Common Sense put a house arrest bracelet on Gavin Newsom--as it has on Joe Biden--and report the fiscal atrocities that he purports to put into motion--all with no pushback from Californians.
California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, with a budget surplus of around $75 billion, now; that’s an absolute fiscal atrocity if I’ve ever seen one!
It's worth reading, if you haven't already, Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple, which details some aspects of the relaxed views of some people towards low-level criminality and general social breakdown in the poorer and working class communities. Apart from the book, there are plenty of lectures and interviews with him which bring out a rounder picture of the topic. Life at the Bottom is based on a detailed analysis in the UK (working in a prison in the morning and across the road in the hospital in the afternoon for some years), and it seems applicable to what is occurring now in the US.
Listened to both podcasts with Alec McGillis. His perspective was enlightening and frightening. The disregard of our young people’s mental health due to lockdowns is embarrassing to hear. How could we have been so shortsighted? And, now that we know what we know, how can we casually stay on this path in some locals? Bari asked a great question; With vaccines widely distributed and therapeutics now available, why don’t we just call it? BTW, Alec was a fascinating guest. Impossible not to admire his passion and thoroughness.
Item Three! Hey kids, let’s have a decanonization!
Bard College has come up with one of those ideas that make even smart guys like me slap our brows and explain, “Now why didn’t I think of that?!” Like Bard I’m running out of library shelf space and its time to cull the herd. But how could I bring myself to purge so many old friends? Simple, really: outsource the job. I can just hire a troika of college students to pass judgement on the Canon!
Let’s imagine a meeting of the Troika.
“So this guy Dostoevsky? I read the first four pages and WTF?”
“Okay, he’s out.”
And this “Foundation Trilogy.” I looked up the author and he was, like, a Jew.”
“Divided loyalties and stuff. And the book? Reads like Zionist propaganda.”
“Out.”
“Now, Evelyn Waugh. Problematical!”
“He is kind of funny, though…”
“Are you KIDDING me, dude?! Did you check out “Black Mischief?”
“White supremacy!”
“Misogyny and and sexism—!”
Of course if Bard actually required its troika to, ahem, read the books on which it’s required to pass judgement, the heat death of the universe would arrive before the Dorm Rat Trio got through “Animal Farm.” A bit problematical, that…
The “book” issue is much like the “statue” issue. We should NOT destroy the books and statues we have but rather we need MORE books and statues. I loved Trumps idea for a park of American heroes
Since “one flew over the cuckoos nest” we have lost the will to care for our mentally ill in a way that is good for them and society. We need to regain that will
50% because of the laugh-out-loud zinger, eg. "if any Common Sense-readers would like to read books that three Bard students deem offensive, please turn yourself in to the local police station. "
I have been reading this substack for free for a while and this article tipped me over... Common Sense has been so valuable - I have spent the past half hour or so perusing the comments and feeling a bit at home...
I am struck by the rise of the Shadow as Carl Jung described it. We are living, it seems, in a society that proclaims itself to be concerned with issues of substance, when in fact we are ignoring the needs of the people, in favor of the needs of politicians. I am frightened about where we are headed as a society. The bluster and arrogance of the politicians of our time, the attempt to deny the truth of our history, and the universities selling our young people garbage will only lead us down a path of disaster. We have been warned by those who have watched what happened in Germany prior to World War II, the Democrats as they are now, rather than how they have been in the past, are the new rise of McCarthyism and the new rise of Hitler. I fear it is coming, the destruction of freedom. People are terrified of speaking their truth due to being called racist or homophobic or worse. We are in the clutches of horror.
I am struck by the rise of the Shadow as Carl Jung described it. We are living, it seems, in a society that proclaims itself to be concerned with issues of substance, when in fact we are ignoring the needs of the people, in favor of the needs of politicians. I am frightened about where we are headed as a society. The bluster and arrogance of the politicians of our time, the attempt to deny the truth of our history, and the universities selling our young people garbage will only lead us down a path of disaster. We have been warned by those who have watched what happened in Germany prior to World War II, the Democrats as they are now, rather than how they have been in the past, are the new rise of McCarthyism and the new rise of Hitler. I fear it is coming, the destruction of freedom. People are terrified of speaking their truth due to being called racist or homophobic or worse. We are in the clutches of horror.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner responds to comments made by journalist and author Bari Weiss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IMxEP9cqXg
Are the three murders post a lament or simply bitching? But no solution was offered, only complaints! She infers involuntary confinement by forcing someone into a car but, that’s too brutal for Republicans. I can’t understand why she’s bitching about Republicans?
I found the bit about Bard's "decanonization" to be especially interesting. Campuses across the country are rushing to purge their environs of anything that might be deemed "harmful" or "violent" by the 21st century's fundamentalist, woke metric.
I graduated from Kenyon College, mascot: the Lords and the Ladies (a tip of the hat to George Kenyon, 2nd Baron Kenyon who put up a generous amount of money to help found the college).
Last year, an effort was underway to eliminate the Lords and Ladies in favor of something . . . more, err, anodyne.
Apparently - according to various staffers at the venerable college newspaper, The Kenyon Collegian - "[t]he Lords and Ladies represent a rigid gender binary that does not accurately reflect the Kenyon community and the multiple identities within it. Nonbinary students, and student-athletes in particular, are forced to be identified by a name that is at least problematic and at most transphobic."
I've excerpted the foregoing bit, but the entire op-ed is so poorly reasoned, the language characterizing the perceived "harm" so grandiose and overblown, and the alumni comments so entertaining, that I'll provide the link to the entire piece: https://kenyoncollegian.com/opinion/2021/03/staff-editorial-kenyon-must-act-swiftly-and-change-its-mascot-now/
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that a lot of alumni (myself included) complained, because the issue doesn't seem to have moved forward. If it does gain any traction, rest assured I will be reporting it here.
I hear you. I am an instructor and librarian at a similar college. Insisted on sending my son to an all-male college in Virginia where men are men, and women are guests. And the definition of who is which is never confusing or confused.
There is only one all male college left in the US (non theological), right? Hampden Sydney. VMI and The Citadel used to be two good options, but alas educational choice for single gender male tertiary education is over.
Indeed it is, the Hampden -Sydney Tigers.
Oh, the horror of it all, civilization and as we know it, if we don’t keep the Lords and the ladies of the land, God saves all!
First off Nellie, I always find your writing to be deeply thoughtful and certain pieces have stayed with me long after I finished reading. So really great work. Thank you.
Second, you’re 1000% correct on the policy failures of treating the mentally ill/homeless. In 2017, my boyfriend of many years did too much meth and disappeared into the streets beginning in January, he overdosed and died in June, and his body was finally recovered in October. It was deeply fucked up. Currently (what can I say I ran in some weird circles) I have four friends in the same predicament, who all have people that love and miss them and want them home. My progressive friends make me want to scream on this issue because they think they’re being kind when they’re actually being assholes. Forcing people into treatment is not a particularly pleasant image but it sure is better than the alternative of these people killing themselves or someone else.
Why haven’t you had them involuntarily committed for drug treatment?
Well, in the case that was closest to me, he went missing on the west coast while I live on the east coast. I was able to track him down once and get a wellness check but that was all I could do considering we weren’t married or related to the each other. The other people that I mentioned are also off the grid/missing. Their family members can put out a missing persons report but there’s honesty not much you can do. It really makes me think how many of these people are truly lost.
I think the real question that needs to be asked is why America is in the top 10 for the prevalence of opiate use, along with 1. Iran, 2. Afghanistan and 3. Russia, it speaks to our society!
Sophia...nicely done.thanks
Nellie underlines what she thinks is the repugnant sentence from the Michigan Democratic Party: the client of the public schools is not the parent but the entire community, the public! Property taxes make up about 40% of school funding, but, Not all parcels of property have children, so parents pay less than 40% of school funding. The schools receive the rest of their funding from state and federal revenue. So a few irate parents are not the only voices that are needed to be heard, the schools are serving the community that needs to be heard from.
Where do states get revenue? From their citizens' income tax, from their citizens' businesses, from their citizens' fees and licensing. It's not like the state of Michigan creates wealth or revenue. ALL government entities work for the citizens.
Nellie--appreciate the clarity of your writing along with the clean crisp presentation of stories/bits of stories.
The three murders, committed by mentally ill thugs allowed to circulate in society without arrest or place to be put away, will continue.
I stopped riding BART five years ago after a State Department Security expert told me, after his moving from a Central American post, that BART was not safe for that very reason--the mentally ill-- and that he carried a weapon while riding it into the City.
I'd like to see Common Sense put a house arrest bracelet on Gavin Newsom--as it has on Joe Biden--and report the fiscal atrocities that he purports to put into motion--all with no pushback from Californians.
Time to move to my cabin in Montana!
California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, with a budget surplus of around $75 billion, now; that’s an absolute fiscal atrocity if I’ve ever seen one!
And Californians voted for the .80 a gallon gas tax. I don’t get it. Where is the outrage?
Do you think the fairy godmother pays for transportation infrastructure?
I look forward to this every week!
It's worth reading, if you haven't already, Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple, which details some aspects of the relaxed views of some people towards low-level criminality and general social breakdown in the poorer and working class communities. Apart from the book, there are plenty of lectures and interviews with him which bring out a rounder picture of the topic. Life at the Bottom is based on a detailed analysis in the UK (working in a prison in the morning and across the road in the hospital in the afternoon for some years), and it seems applicable to what is occurring now in the US.
How do we know when our annual subscription is up?
When you can't comment here. Coffee is for closers, and comments are for subscribers.
Listened to both podcasts with Alec McGillis. His perspective was enlightening and frightening. The disregard of our young people’s mental health due to lockdowns is embarrassing to hear. How could we have been so shortsighted? And, now that we know what we know, how can we casually stay on this path in some locals? Bari asked a great question; With vaccines widely distributed and therapeutics now available, why don’t we just call it? BTW, Alec was a fascinating guest. Impossible not to admire his passion and thoroughness.
Item Three! Hey kids, let’s have a decanonization!
Bard College has come up with one of those ideas that make even smart guys like me slap our brows and explain, “Now why didn’t I think of that?!” Like Bard I’m running out of library shelf space and its time to cull the herd. But how could I bring myself to purge so many old friends? Simple, really: outsource the job. I can just hire a troika of college students to pass judgement on the Canon!
Let’s imagine a meeting of the Troika.
“So this guy Dostoevsky? I read the first four pages and WTF?”
“Okay, he’s out.”
And this “Foundation Trilogy.” I looked up the author and he was, like, a Jew.”
“Divided loyalties and stuff. And the book? Reads like Zionist propaganda.”
“Out.”
“Now, Evelyn Waugh. Problematical!”
“He is kind of funny, though…”
“Are you KIDDING me, dude?! Did you check out “Black Mischief?”
“White supremacy!”
“Misogyny and and sexism—!”
Of course if Bard actually required its troika to, ahem, read the books on which it’s required to pass judgement, the heat death of the universe would arrive before the Dorm Rat Trio got through “Animal Farm.” A bit problematical, that…
The “book” issue is much like the “statue” issue. We should NOT destroy the books and statues we have but rather we need MORE books and statues. I loved Trumps idea for a park of American heroes
Since “one flew over the cuckoos nest” we have lost the will to care for our mentally ill in a way that is good for them and society. We need to regain that will
I love TGIF,
50% because of the Common Sense take on things,
50% because of the laugh-out-loud zinger, eg. "if any Common Sense-readers would like to read books that three Bard students deem offensive, please turn yourself in to the local police station. "