occasional reflections on culture & politics
Whenever we speak, it is important to be precise. Communication depends on it. Words have a meaning for a reason, and once we change the meaning of words in our society, we risk not being able to describe things accurately. Words are words, violence is violence. Some words may call out for violence directly, but… Continue reading #187: Words Are Not Violence
Monument to the Burning of Giordano Bruno at the Campo dei Fiori in Rome.“A BRUNO – IL SECOLO DA LUI DIVINATO – QUI DOVE IL ROGO ARSE”(“To Bruno – from the age he divined – here where the fire burned”). To my shame, I must admit that to this day I have never read any… Continue reading #186: Salman Rushdie and the Case for Free Speech
It is strange to have to look up the meaning of a central holiday of the country into which you have immigrated. I grew up in Socialist/Communist East Germany, and that was a criminal state, I did not care for its traditions. The Catholic Church dictated most of my holiday schedule – the Protestants varied… Continue reading #166: Reflections on Memorial Day
Henry Kissinger reminded us recently that Realpolitik means to make a compromise with a “great power” like Russia. Specifically, that compromise was supposed to respect Russian claims and restore the “status quo ante” before the most recent attack – thus codifying the theft of Crimea and parts of the Donbass. Such a statement clearly ignores… Continue reading #165: Realpolitik Is About Appeasing Power, not Reality or Morality
As I said before, an apology needs to count for something. Will Smith apologized, Chris Rock refused to press charges, even to throw him out of the room. As horrendous as Smith's behavior was, he has recognized that. Can we move on please? Is not everybody allowed a lapse of judgement? Cancel culture is a… Continue reading µ08: Will Smith Apologized; Let It Go
You may say that the United States has enough problems of its own. In recent decades, we have intervened in a variety of conflicts around the world, not all of them successfully resolved, not all of them widely deemed legitimate causes. We are facing plenty of challenges at home and on the global scale. Why… Continue reading #147: Why Should We Care About Ukraine? A Pragmatic Answer
I must admit, I have never understood the rather uncritical position in vast swaths of the political left towards Justin Trudeau and Canada. Certainly, the United States is by no means perfect, but the almost self-hating adoration of Canada by some Americans is strange. It has been Trudeau’s government who has maintained the Keystone XL… Continue reading #142: Oh, Canada…
If persons who are have chosen to not be vaccinated are wearing a Star of David with the designation "unvaccinated", the following considerations should be made: 1. Is the category "unvaccinated" an identity comparable to the category "Jew" defined by the Nuremberg Racial Laws? No. Everyone is free to be vaccinated or not. This would… Continue reading #141: Is Wearing a Star of David Labeled “Unvaccinated” Anti-Semitic?
Whoopi Goldberg said something incredibly and shockingly ignorant about the Holocaust. She revealed, in fact, how a very peculiar and narrow understanding of race in America prevents a more thorough and global discussion of difference, discrimination, ethnicity, racism and genocide in the world. It is a wide-spread problem, and it was unfortunate to see it… Continue reading #134: If People Apologize for Their Mistake, They Should Not Be Cancelled
Recently, I conducted a little teaching experiment in several of my classes. I simply pulled up a map of the world and asked my students which countries were part of the West. In almost all cases, we found out that many more countries are actually culturally “Western” – whatever that means – than typically thought.… Continue reading #128: Russia Is Part of the West
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