Monthly Archives: April 2017

Africa And The Peacemakers

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

It is raining again today in Africa. The grass is singing, if you listen closely you can hear it; the earth is rejoicing. Before the rains things are still: puffs of brown, a remaining dust girding itself for a final … Continue reading →

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The Burning of the World – A Book Review

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

There’s a war brewing in Europe. For years, centuries, millennia these words have been repeated; farmers and peasants and priests and citizens, mercenaries and nobles – Europe has been at war forever. The 20th century saw maybe the worst of … Continue reading →

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The Turtle – An Ancient Arab Parable

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

There was once a happy turtle who lived in a small lake with two geese. They were the greatest of friends, frolicking together and fishing together the deepness. But time was not a friend to the small pond, and the … Continue reading →

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Lord Jim – A Book Review

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“Time had passed indeed: it had overtaken him and gone ahead. It had left him hopelessly behind with a few poor gifts: the iron-grey hair, the heavy fatigue of the tanned face, two scars, a pair of tarnished shoulder-straps; one … Continue reading →

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“The Passion” as God’s Apology

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

There’s a scene in H. G. Wells’ novel “The Island of Dr. Moreau” when the monsters product of Dr. Moreau’s imagination become empowered – learning from Montgomery their warden-keeper through an unfortunate series of events the nature of their captivity … Continue reading →

Posted in Honor, Literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Ayn Rand and Hate

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“I hate that book. I hate her. I wrote a thesis paper in school about her hatred for people and the human race.” If that’s how you feel, you might have clicked on this link by mistake. No matter – … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Liberty, Literature, philosophy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Venezuela’s Dignity and Defiance

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“Sometimes a single act of defiance has enough dignity for an entire country.” So says the Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez about the recent return of Venezuelans to the streets. Defiance, dignity: unfortunately for us they are words – like so … Continue reading →

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Fear

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

Nothing easier than to say ‘have no fear! Nothing more difficult. How does one kill fear, I wonder? How do you shoot a specter through the heart, slash off its spectral head, take it by its spectral throat? It is … Continue reading →

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It’s Ink They Worry About

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

I read a lot of Russian literature. Sharanksy, Solzhenitsyn. Dostoevsky. As I become involved with their work a relationship develops which is helped along by learning their stories. Reading their biographies – trying to understand what shaped their visions of … Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, Liberty, Literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments