Category: cultural analysis

The Power of “Domestic Terrorists”

Not going to lie: there were a few days there when Milwaukee was still burning that things got real tense.  The anti-bad people had their run of things, and even successfully declared independence from these United States.  (At least a few square blocks of them did.)  Mayors huddled in...

The Clumsy, Big-Headed Front in the Culture War

Pundits of all stripes are falling all over each other trying to be the firstest or the loudest decrying the Redskins finally caving in to the demands of the Woke Mob to end their nearly 90-year tradition.  The clever-clever crowd ha also started taking bets on which mascot they...

Viva Le Roi!

Over the last decade the internet has collectively decided that any holiday celebrated by Christians or Americans should be marked with lots of snarky condescension and derision of the celebration.  In that spirit, let’s take this Bastille Day to remember that the birth of the French Republic was accompanied...

The Absolute Madman

If your soul could use a little chicken soup, give A Man For All Seasons, a watch.  When Robert Bolt used the words All Seasons  in the title, he meant it.  And thoughtful modern viewers will find themselves sympathizing and understanding the plight of Saint Thomas More as he stands...

On the Penultimate Men

Celebrate your independence from authors that hate you, the good, the beautiful, and the true.  You should pick up your copy of The Penultimate Men today, and I’ll tell you why. For starters, it includes a new Morty and Kyrus story from Schuyler Hernstrom.  If you have read any...

The Death of the American Conversation

Why are things so shrill now? We used to have big, sprawling conversation that roamed all over the place.  We used to talk about politics a little bit, and the latest sporting event a little bit, and the latest big TV show event a little bit, and the weather,...

The Summer of The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is now widely recognized among honest brokers as a flagrant bit of squid ink meant to protect his fellow Death Cultists.  As Miller himself admits, “[The] power to stir fears… was not entirely based on illusion, of course; the paranoid, real or pretended, always secretes its...

The Invisible Boys of Paul Street

During my recent discussions on the sad state of affairs when it comes to literature written for discerning boys somebody recommended a useful corrective called The Paul Street Boys. It’s always great when a bitch-fest against modernity turns into a praise-fest for a book written before 1940, and so...

Lord of the Fake News Flies

Like all American boys, I was reliably informed by people who should have known better that The Lord of the Flies was an important book that had important things to day and that asked important questions.  Like all normal American boys, after reading it, the only question that I...

Book Clubbing

Alexandru over at The Dacian has a cunning plan.  Every two weeks he will pick a short story worthy of discussion and give the stalwart Old Guard fans a chance to read and discuss across blogs.  In his own words, he hopes to: foster an environment rich in community...