Here are a couple of links to some reading I've done recently.
The first is the last post of a soldier recently killed in Iraq. He asked a friend to post this in the event of his death. I hadn't read his blog before hearing about this post, but after reading it, will probably go back and read some earlier posts. He seems thoughtful and extremely self-aware. His last post is impressive and heart-wrenching.
Hat Tip: The Agitator
The second is an essay by conservative columnist Michael Medved. I saw Medved speak when I was a student at UGA. Then, I only knew him as a movie critic. I don't remember the exact subject of the speech, but I remember being surprised and impressed. I've read him here and there ever since. This essay (I think it's too detailed to call a column) is about how every generation thinks things are only getting worse, and that it's been going on for centuries - yet, here we are.
Medved only tackles the culture in this column, but I have read some other tidbits that say the same about our own health, contrary to popular obesity hype. I'll have to dig those up, sometime, too.
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Just ramblings as they enter my brain, and as I have time to scribble them down.
1 comment:
It is nice to see a conservative (Medved) take issue with the doom & gloom predictions that the right (generally speaking) makes.
I think Medved holds back a little though on describing the motivation. The fact is, fear sells. Doom and gloom sells.
People who are disaffected and unhappy with their place in the world want to hear that it is all about to come crashing down, for everyone.
Throw in the promise of eternal paradise in the after life, and you have a compelling theme that has been effective since time immemorial.
Those in our generation and in our western world who promote that theme have had some special advantages. The millennium change & 9/11 combined
to freak out a lot of people and make many others unsure of the basic stability of reality (remember when the "Left Behind" books flew off
the shelves and it seemed many people saw actual prophecy in them). It has taken us several years to collectively shake off our paranoia.
The doom and gloomers won't ever disappear of course, but at least they aren't mainstream - as it seemed they almost were there for a few years.
As for the obesity crisis...seeing how that is a theme promoted by the left, I see in it complete truth and accuracy :)
No, actually I do think there is a big problem with obesity (no pun) and diabetes among kids and young adults. I think the problem will
address itself though as these people get sick and change their ways (or worse) and their children decide to live a healthier life.
That soldiers blog is too touching and too tragic. I got partially into and just had to stop.
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