Tag Archives: politics

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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The Limitlessness of our Discontent

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Joel D. Hirst

We have at long last arrived at the limitlessness of our discontent. That peculiar period of empire when the expansion knows no bounds and the shape of our resolve acquires a formlessness for never having to retrench and a softness … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Literature, philosophy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

“We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin – A Book Review

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Joel D. Hirst

“Dystopian literature is a genre of fictional writing used to explore social and political structures in ‘a dark, nightmare world’.” ‘We’ by Yevgeny Zamyatin is a dystopian novel set in the distant future. Published first in 1924 in New York, … Continue reading →

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“The Coming Anarchy” – A Review

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

It is cold here, in the middle of the Tennessee mountains where I have come; Christmas vacation for my little boy with grandma and grandpa. The little houses are picture perfect, the mailman knows everybody’s name and the community center … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Book Review, International Affairs, Uncategorized | Tagged | 11 Comments

While Belshazzar Drinks

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

While Belshazzar drank; the aromas of fine wine and elegant foods prepared by the cooks of the greatest empire in the world filled the opulent Assyrian halls of power. The party was reaching crescendo, that moment of inebriation and abandon … Continue reading →

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America’s New Aristocracy

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

Every morning, here in West Africa, as I prepare my little boy for his school – the gym and the recess and the library, PE and science class and field trips – I look through the window of my kitchen … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Liberty, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Dubai – And the Return of the City State

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

Often when I find myself in a faraway land I stop to take a minute, perhaps seated on a dock surrounded by the sounds and smells of fishermen and their craft or lounging unseen against an old wall beside a … Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Politics of Everything

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

Do you love your life, and all its riches? Have you ever read a novel, turning page after page after page as your bedside clock ticks away the seconds, the minutes, the hours; anxiety at tomorrow’s exhaustion an insufficient motivator … Continue reading →

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Our Disappointing Online Agora

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

I’ve given up on Facebook. And Twitter. I never LinkedIn – wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be linking to; nobody that I know has ever found anything worth finding by connecting with other ‘professionals’ desperately trolling social media … Continue reading →

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From Us, On Distant Shores – Enough!

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

Once upon a time I was visiting a gold mine in the Amazon jungle, guest of a group of mine managers concerned with community relations during turbulent times. Restless winds of revolution were blowing silently but ominously through the foliage; … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Honor, Liberty, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment