I love your commentary on this pressing issue. During three jury screening process when I once served on a jury, the clerk asked all potential jurors if they had been a victim of a violent crime. Nearly every hand went up. The basic function of government is to protect and provide somewhat with taxation. How can this continue with so many victims? I think many people simply lack the will to vote for politicians who will end it as best as they can. Another facet that you might have already mentioned in an earlier article is the lack of discipline in schools. Kids think they are untouchable even if they assault or curse aides, teachers, staff. The adults always try to excuse their terrible behavior. So later, when they face arrest they flip out and sometimes attack the police or anyone around them. Earlier strict intervention would have prevented many of the career criminals.
Hey Max! David Cole here; I'm a writer for Takimag. Sorry to reach out to you here, but you don't accept DMs on Twitter. I'm working on a story and I'd like to ask you a question. If you have a moment, please contact me at countercontempt@gmail.com or DM me at Twitter (https://twitter.com/DavidColeStein). Thanks!
"it describes deaths caused by excess or a lack of self-restraint... especially prevalent among youth"
I'm teaching Plato right now to my HS students. Next week we're talking about his definition of education, specifically that it is far more a moral than an intellectual endeavor, learning to use our spiritedness (grit, willpower) to overcome our appetites. Aristotle would say that being a free person requires mastering your passions and lusts (developing self control and virtue) lest your reason be overpowered by your base desires.
Andrew Pudewah, who runs the classical curriculum Institute for Excellence in Writing, speaking at a small conference about 15 years ago said something I've never forgotten: "Education is about character, knowledge and skills. Don't get it backwards."
Our education system (public and private) provides lots of academic instruction (knowledge and skills) but very little moral (character) development. Most schools adopt a J.S. Mill approach to ethics: "if it feels good, do it, as long as you're not hurting anyone else." But ethics aren't about how you treat others; ethics are the path to securing freedom and liberty for yourself. Aristotle would say we're training kids to be slaves. Freud would probably say we're training them to be psychopaths. Based on the evidence, both of them would be right. "They took pleasure in killing a man" is a pretty succinct definition of a psychopath.
I'm guessing the kids you mention in this article had never been taught that the greatest challenge in life is internal, learning to govern your own thoughts and passions and fears and behaviors so that you can live as a thinking, rational, person. Learn to be virtuous so that you may be free. Where would they have ever heard that in a public school?
“It’s worse in some ways, like a wicked spirit is out there”
This guy is more accurate than he realizes. When a people give up on morality and virtue... what do you think comes into their souls? A lack of virtue results in slavery, either to your own passions or to something else's.
Fortunately, Herbert Stein is right, “if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Unfortunately, I also think you're right, Max. We have a long way to go before we make it stop. Making it stop would require: 1) a society-wide recommitment to some kind of collective virtue ethics (Christian or Aristotelian or even Islamic -- ala Houellebecq)... or 2) a police state.
We will either rediscover personal self-government, or we will lose our collective self-government.
Until America gets over its Negrolatry this will continue. The price of low crime is putting Negros under the boot again. Is America willing to do that? Probably not.
I love your commentary on this pressing issue. During three jury screening process when I once served on a jury, the clerk asked all potential jurors if they had been a victim of a violent crime. Nearly every hand went up. The basic function of government is to protect and provide somewhat with taxation. How can this continue with so many victims? I think many people simply lack the will to vote for politicians who will end it as best as they can. Another facet that you might have already mentioned in an earlier article is the lack of discipline in schools. Kids think they are untouchable even if they assault or curse aides, teachers, staff. The adults always try to excuse their terrible behavior. So later, when they face arrest they flip out and sometimes attack the police or anyone around them. Earlier strict intervention would have prevented many of the career criminals.
Hey Max! David Cole here; I'm a writer for Takimag. Sorry to reach out to you here, but you don't accept DMs on Twitter. I'm working on a story and I'd like to ask you a question. If you have a moment, please contact me at countercontempt@gmail.com or DM me at Twitter (https://twitter.com/DavidColeStein). Thanks!
"it describes deaths caused by excess or a lack of self-restraint... especially prevalent among youth"
I'm teaching Plato right now to my HS students. Next week we're talking about his definition of education, specifically that it is far more a moral than an intellectual endeavor, learning to use our spiritedness (grit, willpower) to overcome our appetites. Aristotle would say that being a free person requires mastering your passions and lusts (developing self control and virtue) lest your reason be overpowered by your base desires.
Andrew Pudewah, who runs the classical curriculum Institute for Excellence in Writing, speaking at a small conference about 15 years ago said something I've never forgotten: "Education is about character, knowledge and skills. Don't get it backwards."
Our education system (public and private) provides lots of academic instruction (knowledge and skills) but very little moral (character) development. Most schools adopt a J.S. Mill approach to ethics: "if it feels good, do it, as long as you're not hurting anyone else." But ethics aren't about how you treat others; ethics are the path to securing freedom and liberty for yourself. Aristotle would say we're training kids to be slaves. Freud would probably say we're training them to be psychopaths. Based on the evidence, both of them would be right. "They took pleasure in killing a man" is a pretty succinct definition of a psychopath.
I'm guessing the kids you mention in this article had never been taught that the greatest challenge in life is internal, learning to govern your own thoughts and passions and fears and behaviors so that you can live as a thinking, rational, person. Learn to be virtuous so that you may be free. Where would they have ever heard that in a public school?
“It’s worse in some ways, like a wicked spirit is out there”
This guy is more accurate than he realizes. When a people give up on morality and virtue... what do you think comes into their souls? A lack of virtue results in slavery, either to your own passions or to something else's.
Fortunately, Herbert Stein is right, “if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Unfortunately, I also think you're right, Max. We have a long way to go before we make it stop. Making it stop would require: 1) a society-wide recommitment to some kind of collective virtue ethics (Christian or Aristotelian or even Islamic -- ala Houellebecq)... or 2) a police state.
We will either rediscover personal self-government, or we will lose our collective self-government.
Until America gets over its Negrolatry this will continue. The price of low crime is putting Negros under the boot again. Is America willing to do that? Probably not.