If all the libraries in the world were destroyed and you could save only two books of political theory, which would they be?
100 Days Citizen Test
On President Obama’s hundredth day: five questions for citizens.
Exhilaration, Exhaustion, Tennyson
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Passing of Arthur
Wisdom versus Winning
After all this, is your world not larger than it was before? Show me you both are looking for wisdom and understanding, rather than victory.
Another Halloween
It’s that time of year again, when our culture takes a holiday originating in fall harvest and the passing of generations, and turns it into a celebration of imagination, childhood, community, misrule, aggression, terror, & trauma (as well as another opportunity for a capitalist binge).
Dashed Hopes (or, Nonsense in Nashville)
Richard Harwood: “When this campaign started, many people, including myself, thought it was a golden opportunity for a real debate between competing visions for the nation’s future. Remember that?”
The Woman, the Problem, the Dream…and the Hope?
Some of our struggles: from Sojurner Truth, who asks, “Ain’t I a Woman?” From W.E.B. Du Bois, who asks, “How does it feel to be a Problem?” From Martin Luther King, Jr., who asks, “Can we bank on this dream?” And from Barack Obama, who claims that, “Yes, we can.”
Blog Day 2008–Reading, Learning, Hoping, Blogging, Being
Blog Day is a linkfest initiated by Nir Ofir in 2005, in the belief that bloggers should have one day which will be dedicated to discover new blogs and expose them to the world. We all have a small number of people and sources of information with which we interact of a regular basis, and that social and informational context is part of what shapes who we are in the world. Blog Day is a chance to expand those social and informational horizons by forging new links into new networks, bridging the divides between people and communities and enlarging our own experience.
The basic rules for Blog Day ask bloggers to post about five blogs that they would like to share with the world. I’ve decided to do a little more…
On Manifestoes
So here are some manifestos of the present day on books, education, faith, and civic life. Though their weight for good or ill, for much or little, is as yet unknown, these are some of the words that will shepherd us into our shared future.
The Audacity of Strategy
I wonder if Barack has read Condi’s book?