Category Archives: America

The New America?

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

“Go see the new America,” I was advised by a not-altogether-well-meaning friend. “See how America has changed.” “America has changed a lot in the last nine years,” said another friend, “and not all for the better.” And yet again, “America … Continue reading →

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It Came From a Lab…

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

I’m not really accustomed to quick posts on current events, my writing being focused mostly on culture and politics and art and travel – civilizational writings meant to inspire wonder. However Vanity Fair just published the most extraordinary piece of … Continue reading →

Posted in America, International Affairs | Tagged | 1 Comment

On Oppression

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

Last night I was reading the Bible to my little boy – we are now in the life of Jesus – the story about when the Pharisees tried to trick him by asking him whether a good Jew should pay … Continue reading →

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Seek Out The Glorious

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

It has been a rough year, to say the least. Disease and ‘isolation’, those “premodern idea(s) of quarantines, closures, and measured lockdowns.” A way of thinking that is “not just premodern; (instead) turning the logic of modern medicine on its … Continue reading →

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Armenia Saved My Life

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

“That is why I love America,” he said to me this morning, eyes watering. “A land where immigrants are welcomed and can free themselves of the shackles of the past – of the old country which we love so much, … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Travel | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Struggle for the World

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

James Burnham was the most influential conservative intellectual you’ve probably never heard of. Oh, I suppose if you are of a previous generation, or if you are yourself (or strive to be) an intellectual, you probably have run across the … Continue reading →

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“Song of America” by George Mardikian

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

There is something extraordinarily good, tremendously fresh and clean and pure about “Song of America” by George Mardikian. Mardikian is a now-famous Armenian-American restauranteur and philanthropist who became successful despite the ‘old world’ difficulties – genocide by the Young Turks … Continue reading →

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A River Runs Through It

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

In days of angst and rage it is to art, and specifically to literature that we return to remind us of the American experience and what it means to be part of each other. “Eventually, all things merge into one, and … Continue reading →

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Why Not A Jubilee?

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

There’s nothing that highlights the coming financial debacle like the news I read this morning: Costa Rica is considering open-pit gold mining and deep sea fracking to cover the epic, yawning, gaping hole in their finances. Um, say what??? Now, … Continue reading →

Posted in America, International Affairs, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Suicide of California

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Civilizations fail, and then they fall. That is the natural order of things. They fail because their ideas buckle; their discipline withers away; their common culture becomes brittle – an adhesive which no longer binds. Then they fall, a crash … Continue reading →

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