Category Archives: Honor

The Mango Rains

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

The air hangs heavy, electric in the evening; lightning chases around clouds that do not yet release their rain while the wind whips the dust in a flurry. They are not ready, they are preparing – gathering energy and purpose … Continue reading →

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2017 – And America’s “Age of Misery”

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

The bombings started in the cold of the Texas winter. The rebels had quickly come to terms with the reality that they could not hold and keep land; and they turned instead to terror. Strapping bombs on little girls – … Continue reading →

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The Destitution of the ‘Noble Nobels’

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“I always hope, in fact, that my interlocutor will be a policeman and that he will arrest me for the theft of ‘The Just Judges’.” So said Albert Camus in his simple short novel “The Fall”. The theft of the … Continue reading →

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The Facile Dance – A Poem

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

Tiny minds the magic see; Ne’er hunger, rage or misery; It matters little whence they hail; From city strong or jungle vale. Bouncy castles tethered fast; Piñatas filled and gifts amassed; Or bottle cap rolled through the sand; Pulled gently … Continue reading →

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There Once Was a Dream That Was Rome…

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“There was once a dream that was Rome, you could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.” Marcus Aurelius, ‘The Gladiator’. Republics are funny things. They are resilient; not brittle or sclerotic like we are … Continue reading →

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Balance, Sovereignty and Trump’s #UNGA

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

“Be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s a great balancing act.” Dr. Seuss Balance, hard choices – opportunity costs as the economists call them; managing scarcity in a world of want. Life … Continue reading →

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On Africa and Inequality

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

I live in Africa. For those who read my ramblings frequently, this will not come as a surprise. Africa, the hardest of places – sadness, despair, misery. A darkness that is not a comment on the brightness of the sun … Continue reading →

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On Monuments

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

A few months ago an Islamist terrorist was found guilty by the International Criminal Court in The Hague of having destroyed Timbuktu’s cultural heritage in his acts of vandalism against Sufi shrines; burial places of the great men after whom … Continue reading →

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Our Republic of Second Chances

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

This morning I met an old gang banger in the play area at the mall. Teeth capped, tattoos decorating his neck, plaid shirt buttoned at the top over low pants and a scar down his arm that looked like it … Continue reading →

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Leopoldo Lopez Is Home – For Now, That’s Enough

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

Venezuela’s most renowned political prisoner is home. Not free; not yet. But home; that will do for now. For him – to eat food mixed with love by his wife instead of excrement by his hostage takers; to talk on … Continue reading →

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