Category Archives: philosophy

War, Pandemic, and Depression

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

It was at the very beginning of my days of adulthood – grad school to be precise – when nineteen terrorists smashed two planes into the sides of two sky-scrapers. I was sitting in the student union at university in … Continue reading →

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After COVID-19

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Monumental moments in history often follow great conflagrations. Four-hundred years ago Europe, exhausted of her wars, and seeking to put an end to the 30 years war which was only the latest in the conflicts which had stretched back forever … Continue reading →

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Eulogy for Resistance

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

One of my wife’s former colleagues passed away yesterday. He was working from his unpleasant extended-stay hotel in Bogota where he had taken refuge after being forced to flee his country; locked down by COVID and still carrying on with … Continue reading →

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The Mountains

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

I am haunted by mountains, ancient and immutable, unconquerable and mysterious fortresses to the past. Sinews and muscles attached to bone, enveloped by a thin layer of skin, ripping upon contact with a rose thorn or bramble; that is not … Continue reading →

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The Return of Pessimism

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

During the heady days of hubris which now seem so long ago but in reality were only a few months back, I was often accused of pessimism. The world, as I saw it, was not headed to a good place. … Continue reading →

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“Lord of the Rings” #LOTR

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

“Lord of the Rings”, or #LOTR as it has been dubbed following the filming of two series by Peter Jackson, one quite good and then the Hobbit three-part series virtually unwatchable – garbage in technicolor. He forgot, in that filming … Continue reading →

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History Has Started Again

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

I never expected to have a ringside seat to the end of an order. Edward Gibbon live-streamed on YouTube; Cicero in 140 characters. “The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly…”  You always … Continue reading →

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The Day The Music Died (but only for a few…)

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

I have started this piece a dozen times, each time drawing my cursor back up to the top highlighting and deleting in order to start anew. Because how does one express relief, and not sound naïve? In our cynical world, … Continue reading →

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Less Calvino More Camus

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Kiran Bhat reached out to me over email to review his new novel “We Of The Forsaken World” after reading my review of “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino. “But things are not lasting, not eternal nor stable. They rise and … Continue reading →

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To Talk of Many Things… (Vol. #8 – The Death of Gramsci)

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

It is a singular sadness for a writer to accept that often-times he writes only for himself. To posterity perhaps, to hone his craft and sharpen his thoughts in expectation of the day when truth again matters. Sometimes I channel … Continue reading →

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