I’ve been writing an awful lot about the decline of the West lately, and in particular about how our crazy obsession with “diversity” affects our prospects in our ancient conflict with Islam; one might think that’s the only thing on my mind, which it certainly is not. I also think that I’ve begun to give some readers the impression that I am some sort of narrow-minded bigot, seething with genocidal hatred, which is very far indeed from the truth. Really, I’m just worried, that’s all, and I don’t want to see Western civilization and culture — which I unabashedly believe to be the highest achievement, to date, in humanity’s long struggle to raise itself above the apes and brutes from which we are all descended — fall in ruins. At least not on my watch.
I think I’ll try to lay off the subject a bit for a while; I’ve been neglectful of many of the topics we used to cover here often. (I also haven’t had a whole lot of time to write, lately, and may have none at all tomorrow, as I will be traveling.)
For tonight, then, something completely different; an interesting item on the technology front: road trains. Here.
5 Comments
Wait, so you mean you’re not some narrow-minded bigot, seething with genocidal hatred? Now I’m confused.
(Just kidding! Although I haven’t said anything, I’ve been following the posts with interest; I’m currently reading No god but God by Reza Aslan in an attempt to chip away at some of my ignorance of Islam, so I’ve found your posts quite interesting.)
I’ve also been following with interest. The problem is a complex one, it isn’t going to go away, and it won’t be easy to solve.
For the moment, ever sharper analyses are needed.
Jeffery Hodges
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Thank you both. I do worry that I’m starting to come across as rather mean-spirited and obsessive on this topic. I do have strong feelings about all this, of course, but not vicious ones.
Charles, you might find Annemarie Schimmel’s slim volume Islam: An Introduction to be a good overview.
Kevin has weighed in with a couple of penetrating comments on the “Diplomatic Immunity” post, and I look forward to a productive engagement there. Having just spent many hours on the road, however, and with about an hour of programming work to to before bed, I think it will have to wait till tomorrow at the earliest.
Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely check that out at some point. I don’t have a whole lot of time for “extracurricular” reading these days, but I have been looking for a good introductory text. Aslan mentions quite a few scholarly works, but there are so many it’s a bit overwhelming.
The Schimmel book is good – covers the essentials concisely.