Conversation of Our Generation

Roger Scruton is one of the leading conservative philosophers of the last century, and potentially of all time. His book, The Meaning of Conservatism, was instrumental in developing how I think about politics. So, I want to share this book with you. Honestly, I think anyone - whether conservative or not - would learn a lot from this book. Interested? Check out the podcast here:

"All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change."

Well, that is the big question, right? Conservatism is a way of approaching problems that is different. Instead of discarding the old, conservatives seek to understand why those who came before them found things valuable. They don't just let things remain, but actively seek to preserve them. Furthermore, they aren't just reactionaries as Roger Scruton explains:

There's a healthy tension between conservatism and liberalism. Scruton explains in The Meaning of Conservatism how the debate over whether or not something is worth preserving is a constant question. By seeking to preserve what is time-tested, the conservative argues in favor of tradition. Liberals, on the other hand, will push for change and novelty, challenging the status quo. When both the conservative and liberal can discuss issues, they will be able to decide together how to move society forward by changing and preserving the right things. This debate is essential, and the conservative is an essential part of it. Without him, it would simply be a lecture - not a discussion.

Today, many people don't understand what it means to be conservative. In fact, the whole conservative perspective is often misrepresented and misunderstood. However, I think that is largely due to to bad branding rather than bad arguments. Here, you'll get a great discussion about culture with Alan Cornett, creator of the Cultural Debris Podcast and the Eat Kentucky Podcast.

In this conversation, we covered a bunch of topics related to culture. Here's some of what we discussed:

Basically, the conservative perspective is to hold onto what works until there's sufficient reason to turn away from it. Rather than casting aside anything old, the conservative seeks to cherish, uplift, and celebrate traditions. Instead of severing the link between ourselves and our ancestors, the conservative works to strengthen those bonds.

In order to understand our culture fully, we must know how conservatives and liberals approach the different problems facing us. Where do they put the strongest emphasis? How do they understand and tackle problems? In this episode, I get a thoughtful, conservative perspective on the culture.

Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind was instrumental in shaping the next half-century of conservative thought. Although conservatism has a bad brand, it is a tough philosophy to contend with. Over his lifetime, Kirk worked hard to forward conservatism and argued in favor of the conservative approach.

The nullification movement is something that has been pushed by the Tenth Amendment Center and other people concerned with limiting Federal power. Basically, the goal is to help states reclaim their sovereignty. Instead of letting the federal government hand down dictates at will, our founders provided us with the means to push back. So, if you want to learn about nullification, listen below and check out the Tenth Amendment Center.

Grab your copy of State of the Nullification Movement

The focus of this movement is to bring power back to the states. Why do we need to do that? Despite the attempt to limit government, it has grasped more power over the course of the progressive movement. However, things were not always like this, and they don't have to be like this either. Luckily, the founding fathers foresaw this problem and offered a solution. Thus, we have nullification - the ability for states to deem federal laws unconstitutional and not comply with them. Tom Woods explains below:

To be honest, I am a card-carrying member of the Tenth Amendment Center. I believe in their mission, which may make me a bit biased. That said, this organization is doing tremendous work in the pursuit of liberty and government accountability. Below, you'll find the text of the 10th Amendment. That's what the TAC is fighting to preserve.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Recently, I sat down with the Stained Glass Zealot to talk about the beauty of stained glass, and how it draws you in. Check out his Twitter account here or his Substack to see what he's doing to show how beautiful this art is. Mostly, we discussed the beauty of churches. But, we dove into several other topics like the Lindy Effect, Divine Light by Abbot Suger, fashion vs. eternal beauty, and much more. Listen here or subscribe below to watch the interview:

One theme that came up again and again in this interview was that beauty draws us in. We know this from our own experience, if we stop to reflect. Generally, when we fall in love, it starts with some attraction to beauty. In a grocery isle, our eye jumps to bright, beautiful packaging. Beauty captures our attention. It captivates us, pulling us in.

According to Wikepedia, the Lindy Effect, "is a theory that the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things like a technology or an idea is proportional to their current age, so that every additional period of survival implies a longer remaining life expectancy." Basically, the longer something has been around, the longer it will last into the future.

The Origin of Stained Glass

This art was largely inspired by Abbot Suger of St. Denis. His work of Divine Light was meant to encourage the use of beauty to inspire people to pursue Christ. In essence, he believed that beauty could be used to bring people into the Church. In fact, people took this idea even further and used the art itself to teach the faith. Today, many churches have stained glass windows that teach the gospel and of the saints.

Join the Conversation of Our Generation.

A lot of change started happening in the 18th century and by the 19th century it was full steam ahead. With change came a lot of difficulty adapting. Due to that difficulty, a new school of thought arose. Thus, nineteenth century thought was marked by a grappling with change and how to handle it. Political thought went through a transformation in the wake of this new school of thought.

"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection."

Progressivism preaches an inevitable outcome - that we are marching toward some future state regardless of our choice. However, this is largely unfounded. Thinkers like Darwin and Marx have been proven wrong. Although their ideas weren't completely demolished, their body of work has taken numerous hits. Instead of marching toward inevitable utopia, we have wavered between progress and regress.

This book is a dense read, for sure. Despite that, I really enjoyed it. But, you will have to dedicate some attention and energy to this book as you read it. If you do, I think you'll get a lot out of it. The way it's laid out is very interesting. Simply put, it is a collection of works and writing from several different authors. You'll get input from writers like Marx, Darwin, John Stuart Mill and more. So, if you want to learn more about the groundwork of Progressivism, this book is for you.

With the election today, I thought it would be good to share a discussion I had with Sean Boston where we talked about our election thoughts and much more. We talked about ACB, Libertarianism, and our secularizing culture. Furthermore, we were able to agree and disagree, while having a lively discussion. Plus, it helps that Sean is a very funny guy, and much sharper than he gives himself credit for. 

I wanted to be sure to get this episode out before the election was over. Mainly, I was hoping to be able to get my thoughts and predictions out there before it happens. This quote from Benjamin Netanyahu sums up my thoughts on what will likely happen with Trump pretty well. And, this is how I evaluate what's going on around me in politics to make a decision.

Also, we discuss much more than just our thoughts on the election and potential outcomes. We looked at what it means to be a "real libertarian," if there even is such a thing. Moreover, we talked about the woes of the Libertarian party, and my misgivings about Jo Jorgensen. Next, we dove into our thoughts on the nomination (that hadn't happened at the time) for Amy Coney Barrett. We talked about the secularization of our society and  some of the fallout we expect to see. And, we discussed much more as well. If you enjoy, funny and insightful conversations, I think you'll get a lot out of this one.

In keeping with this week's episode on history, I decided to bring out a book from my library on history to review today. In this episode, we'll look at some of the secrets of history from this book. Basically, this book is a collection of short stories that many may not know about American history. Despite being a history buff, I hadn't heard many of the stories, so I think there's a lot of learning for anyone. Tune into this episode, I'll show you why you should pick up your copy.

How much about history do you really know? Did you know about Aaron Burr's debauchery? How about John Edwards' wayward grand nephew? If you want to learn incredible stories about our past, this book is where you want to look. In fact, some of the stories are truly unbelievable. Despite that, these did happen, and I think you'd be amazed by some of these stories. It's definitely important to know the broad themes and movements of history. However, these little stories are great to know as well, and can make for a great way to get people interested in history.

History is a part of our heritage, and it's important to know where we come from. Furthermore, knowing history allows us to identify solutions in our current situation. There's a common saying that those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it, and that's true. Most importantly, it offers us the knowledge we need to make decisions about our world. This is because it puts things in perspective by broadening our frame of reference.

There are so many Catholic history myths out there that are so ingrained in our minds that we just believe them. But, are these stories we know for sure about our history really true? Brendan Lane from the Catholic History Show joined me to explain why our understanding of history is mistaken.

The Catholic Church is the recipient of a lot of scorn in America. I would argue it is one of the last acceptable forms of bigotry in America, and I'm not alone.  So, I wanted to refute some of the myths our culture puts out there about Catholic history. That's why I talked to Brendan about these several topics - to separate fact from fiction.

Christopher Columbus has a bad reputation nowadays, but is that really deserved? Actually, much of the negative stuff about Columbus we have is either slanderous or exaggerated. In fact, he was a very good man, impressive explorer, and a genius. He did have his faults. But, each of us is imperfect, and to hold historical figures to today's standards is unfair and childish.

The Crusades and Myths

The Crusades are also terribly misrepresented by historians. Although it is a complicated series of wars, it is boiled down in history books to a simple religious squabble. And, the Christians were totally in the wrong, according to today's historians. However, this is incredibly ahistorical. In reality, anyone who looks will find out that there's much more to the Crusades. And, Brendan helped unravel that story in this interview.

There's more to the Inquisition than the Monte Python sketch. In fact, it is one of the most misrepresented periods of history. Brendon shows how the myths surrounding the Inquisition don't hold up to the historical record. Furthermore, he demonstrates how much of what Catholics think they know is wrong as well.

I wanted to review the Doctrine of the Mean and the Analects because I think they are full of amazing wisdom. Confucius is, in my opinion, on par with some of the greatest Greek philosophers. Having now read more of Plato's work, I would compare these works to something like the Symposium or Republic. The question-and-answer style is very engaging and I think makes for a good demonstration of how to discuss ideas.

This is a readable, short discourse on morality, propriety, and virtue. It is an incredibly insightful work that delves into a range of topics, each one focused on making people better. Also, it has a familiar form of discourse where Confucius' students ask him questions and he answers. To those who've read works by Plato or the Gospels, these techniques will be familiar and, in my opinion, inviting.

Although Confucius is from China, his ideas are incredibly similar to what we find in western philosophy. Furthermore, I believe the ideas expressed give a unique perspective since they don't come from the West. Despite the similarity, there are differences that come out of this work in comparison to one from Aristotle or Thomas Aquinas. But, there is tremendous wisdom in this for anyone who is seeking truth.

The mean is an idea that exists in both in the East and West, and has a number of expressions. Different expressions of the Doctrine of the Mean are due to the fact it's hard to pin down exactly. Aristotle, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and others have sought to explain the mean. Basically, the mean boils down to how to act morally and ethically.

I had the chance to talk to the guys at the Winner Gets Nothing Podcast about a range of topics. In this episode, we discussed, politics, religion, and much more. One of the main things we talked about is how to engage in discussions. I think this is a huge part of what's hurting our society today.

We dove into a range of different topics. But, I think the whole time we were flowing on a lot of different topics. Hopefully, this episode serves as a guide for those of you who want to have good, productive conversations.

The guys at the WGN Podcast are not sitting idly by, but are engaging in the conversation. And, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to them. If you're interested in politics, religion, libertarianism, conspiracies and more, you'll like this podcast for sure.

First, keep a level head. Don't get angry or upset if people disagree. In the moment you can simply agree to disagree and think about things and think about it later.

Secondly, you should find common ground and seek to understand the other person. Instead of looking to win the argument or undermine the other person's argument, look for ways to be productive. Finding common ground and building on that can be great. And, learning a new perspective can be really helpful as well.

Lastly, I recommend you talk about things you and the other person are knowledgeable on and passionate about. If you can do that, you have a way to move forward on the conversation and can get into the flow of it. I think we had that flow going, which is why I wanted to share this conversation with you.