Intro to America First

I’ve done more blogging in the past couple months than I’ve ever done before, but none of it’s been here. That’ll change soon as the school year winds down, but for now I’d like to direct your attention to another project.

America First is a political blog, of which I am co-editor. The goal is to seek solutions to some of the myriad problems the United States face. I have contributed most of the material so far, but my co-editor should be working on some articles soon, and ultimately we would like to build up a lively comments section.

So, stop by, and be sure to comment.

Orwell’s Review of ‘Mein Kampf’

In March 1940, George Orwell published a review of a translation of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf. The whole review is of at least historical interest, including the note that, since the edition had been published a year earlier, was edited from a pro-Hitler angle.

Of more lasting value, though, is Orwell’s reflection on why Hitler seemed so appealing to so many, even outside Germany. The first is familiar to many already: charisma. Hitler was not attractive, his writing clumsy, but his appearance and personality make him look like a “martyr,” in Orwell’s words, “One feels, as with Napoleon, that he is fighting against destiny, that he can’t win, and yet that he somehow deserves to.” This seems incredible today, when reductio ad hitlerum is often taken as a valid argument, but of course that view comes with the benefit of hindsight and the effect of the public schools emphasizing the Holocaust. Some of our own modern messiahs may also age poorly, though it’s too soon to tell for certain.

Orwell finds a second point of appeal to Nazism: “Hitler has said to them [Germany] ‘I offer you struggle, danger and death.’” Sounds great, right? Sign me up!

Seriously, though, I can see the appeal. Hedonism, the mere seeking of pleasure, seems attractive for a while, but many people prefer a sense of adventure. Something glorious, historic, like what they read in history and fables; that sense of belonging to a movement greater than oneself.

A Look at Student Government

Today, I got a glimpse future leadership of the nation, and the view is not good.

The venue was a debate at my university among Student Government candidates for president and vice-president. These five yammerheads went on for about an hour, mostly about the importance of representing “the students.” What none of them seemed to grasp was that “the students” are not a homogenous mass, but a collection of individuals who have differing, perhaps even conflicting, opinions on what their “representatives” should do.

Actually, the vast majority of students probably don’t care about Student Government, since they don’t seem to accomplish much beyond the occasional idiotic expenditure; for example, the purchase of three “spirit rocks” for students to express school spirit (i.e., graffiti) for several thousand dollars.

One of the vice presidential candidates was especially honest when he stated that he may not have totally agreed with a particular bill he had recently voted for, but since surveys indicated “the students” approved of the bill, “the students’” opinion became his opinion.

Too bad more politicians don’t admit they’re cowards who just do what’s popular!

George Orwell: Essays

This is the first of a series of posts on George Orwell. I recently bought a giant (1,300+ pages!) collection of his essays and journalism, published by Everyman’s Press. The volume itself is pretty nice, except for what appears to be fudge stains on the back. Thanks, Barnes & Noble.

Anyway, the highlights here are the essays themselves. One would expect in a volume this large that much of the content would essentially be filler. So far, though, that does not seem to be the case at all. The more famous essays I’ve encountered so far – “Politics and the English Language,” “Rudyard Kipling,” “My Country Right or Left” – have all been engaging. Surprisingly, though, even short articles and book reviews often contain still-relevant insights into the subject matter, and even reveal something of the author’s personality.

I’ll delve into all this more over the next few weeks, when I examine individual essays more closely. For now, though, I highly recommend looking into these essays yourself. Orwell is best known for Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, but his shorter work is almost as valuable as those novels, and probably more so for those looking to understand Orwell’s own politics.

How Austrian Are You?

I just took the Mises Institute’s “Are You an Austrian?” quiz. Apparently, my economic views are 82/100 Austrian. A couple of my answers to the 25-question quiz were more in-line with the Chicago school, and a couple others with Keynesian/neo-classical economics. Somehow, I even managed to give one socialist answer(!).

Though my final score is probably accurate, and no such quiz is perfect, there were a few questions I had to hedge on. For example, one question asked about government involvement in endeavours like schools and roads. Well, I think government should build roads, but should not involve itself with schools.

It’s also really tough for an online quiz, with questions like “What is the reason for the interest rate, and should the rate be regulated?” Well, shit, I don’t know.

That aside, it’s definitely a step above the typical “What Pokemon type are you?” fare (I’m psychic-type, BTW). Check it out, and while you’re there read up on some Austrian economics too.

Economics in One Post

With all the talk of the government needing to spend money in order to stimulate the economy, I figured now would be as good a time as any to break out Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson.

In short, based on my understanding of his book, a government has only two ways, besides outright seizure, of raising money. The first is taxation, and the second is inflation (the printing of more money). Every dollar the government spends must be paid for by one dollar of taxation or inflation. In neither case is there any real gain to the economy, because by taxation wealth is simply redistributed, not created, and by inflation the value of each dollar (or pound, or whatever) is reduced, making the additional money less meaningful.

That’s, uh, really about it. Hazlitt expands on that concept in his writings, of course, but really this seems like plain common sense. Why Congress fails to grasp such concepts is a mystery.

11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month

On this day, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in A.D. 1918, ended what is possibly the most catastrophic event in human history. The Great War, as those involved called it, or the First World War, involved some of the most brutal fighting mankind has yet engaged in.

The word “tragedy” is overused in describing public events, but the Great War certainly fits, because most of those involved  were scarred, emotionally if not physically, or killed through no real fault of their own. Most of the combatants were drafted, and while most of the major wars in modern history have at least some pretext, the Great War was astoundingly unnecessary and wasteful.

Though the number of living veterans is now small, the impact of the war remains. Even the war’s political ramifications – great as they are – gradually dissipate. What, then, is the Great War’s relevance to the modern world? I can think of two reasons why the war is still relevant.

First, as one of history’s best reminders that the government is not your friend.

Second, its impact on art and literature. Very few writers of the early twentieth century were unaffected by the Great War, and its impact can be felt in most major works from the years following the war. Some of the greatest poets of their generation were themselves veterans, such as Siegfried Sassoon. Others were killed in the fighting, such as Wilfred Owen. No doubt other great men died who never had any chance to develop and share their talents, whether in poetry or another field, and that is possibly the greatest tragedy of the war.

Posting on a Blog

Not a whole lot to add today – just a couple brief items of interest.

First, for those who applaud Senator Obama’s recent speech on race that’s gotten so much attention and praise, you may be interested in this alternate take, courtesy of “Men Like Trees, Walking.”

Second, on a lighter note and for the writers out there, the Gender Guesser. Give it a piece of prose writing, and it will estimate whether you’re a man or woman based on the words you use. I fed it my “Somewhat True Story,” as well as a few other pieces, and I was consistently guessed as a man. No surprise, but it denies me the “you write like a girl” jokes.  Do read the explanation of the Gender Guesser, though, since it’s both interesting on its own but also explains how they came up with their algorithm.

That’s all for now, folks.

Anon and Internet Activism

Yesterday’s massive, worldwide Scientology protests appear to have been mostly successful. By some estimates, several hundred people turned out, and even Newsweek has run an article on the whole endeavor. More info can be found on this forum. Personally, I’d be interested to know just how many of yesterday’s protesters were really from Anonymous – this project has spread so far around the internet, that many are aware of it, and even people who’ve never been to a *chan may have been involved.

I’m also still waiting to see if this leads to wider, more significant internet-based activism. So far, such activity has been limited to individual websites and blogs. However, between Chanology and Ron Paul’s massive online support, the scale of activism is quickly broadening. Paul’s online base appears to have failed to get him the Republican nomination, and Chanology’s effect has yet to be seen outside the *chans themselves. If the movement is perceived to be effective, we can expect more such projects on other topics.

That said, just how successful can Chanology be? How does Anon know if Scientology has lost? Scientology itself isn’t going anywhere, all that’s likely happen to the CoS if Anon plays this well is losing its tax-exempt status and perhaps diminish in number. That would be a victory for Anonymous, but it’s nothing dramatic and while Anon has showed a lot more stamina so far than many expected, simple human nature means that they have to get tired eventually.

Oh, such drama!

Anon vs. Scientology

I saw this story a few days ago, but since it’s still going I figured it would be worth posting about. Anonymous doing something almost noble like declaring war on Scientology is quite the story.

First of all, as Wise Beard Man says, not even Anon can destroy Scientology, and that shouldn’t be the goal. Even within the *chans, opinion
varies from enthusiastic to, well, cynical. (Both images stolened from iichan). However, thanks to Anon’s size and resources, they can raise awareness of Scientology’s abuses – they’ve already got Wired’s attention, and even FoxNews has a story on it – and at least make the Church’s life more difficult. See, for instance, this raid in Orlando.

Another aspect of this is how the anti-Scientology campaign will affect Anonymous. Anon has always been the internet’s embodiment of hedonism, and their previous raids for righteous causes have been short-term. So, if Anon is able to manage a long-term campaign, are they still anon? Will they eventually launch similar campaigns against someone else? Oh, such suspense!

I don’t know, but in any case I’m getting plenty of lulz from the sidelines, and wish them the best of luck in the War.