Conflict regarding the desire for safe spaces is no different on a fundamental level than conflict regarding speech and behavior. Case in point: the hue and cry for “safe spaces” on college campuses. Should college campuses have safe spaces? Should the entire college campus be a safe space?
Tag: security
The New Normal: Our Evil Gift to a Generation Which Didn’t Deserve it
“Nothing,” economist Milton Friedman once observed, “is so permanent as a temporary government program.” And nothing makes a government’s programs — or, more importantly, changes in its core values — more permanent than the loss of collective memory that comes with generational changes. We’re hitting a big one soon. It worries me.
Negative Social Preferencing, ICE Edition
If you work for ICE, you should be denied service at restaurants, denied communion at churches, and have to explain to your kids why they aren’t invited to other kids’ birthday parties or play activities. And thanks to Sam Lavigne, we know who you are.
North Korea: Pelosi versus Peace
In her official statement on Trump’s Singapore summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi makes it clear that a few million incinerated human beings a small price to pay to keep the 68-year-old Korean War going. Maybe not forever, but at least until there’s a Democrat in the White House.
How to Believe in Free Speech
Almost all libertarians earnestly say, “I believe in free speech.” Normally, though, this goes way beyond the right to speak freely. Most libertarians also believe that free speech “works” in some sense – that given a free exchange of ideas, the truth will at least ultimately prevail. On reflection, this is an awkward position.
Encouragement as Bad as Discouragement
In our society, we commonly and appropriately demonize discouragement because we see it as someone interjecting themselves into this exploration. Discouragement is a tool to distort the exploration of a child in favor of the insecurities and self-interest of the discourager. It is a means of the adult trying to live through their child. Discouragement is someone trying to tip and distort the scales within the ecosystem of a child’s discovery process. The last paragraph also perfectly describes the problems of encouragement.
By Leaving People Alone
Questions: How will children be educated? How will people get health care? How will business fluctuations be prevented or moderated? How will people get personal security? How will people receive income when they can no longer work? How will the society’s distressed and disabled receive support and care?
German Police Are Cracking Down on Family Vacations from School – Is American Policy Very Different?
With Memorial Day Weekend here, many Americans have hit the road early to avoid traffic to their favorite holiday destinations, or catch a Thursday flight to make a weekend stay at Grandma’s less rushed. For some German families, who celebrated a three-day weekend last week, taking their kids out of school to get a jumpstart on the holiday ended with police airport interrogations and looming fines.
Don’t Trust Government to Keep Deals
President Trump decided to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement, and his critics are enjoying their opportunity to show concern. You can debate whether the deal had any legitimacy, whether it was a good idea, and what breaking the deal means, but you’d be missing the point. Agreements are meaningless to governments.
When You Have a Voice Telling You You’re Inadequate
This week I had conversations with a couple of loved ones who struggle with an inner voice that tells them that something is wrong with them. It made me think about many years where I felt this sense of inadequacy, a deep sense of not being worthy. I still struggle with it sometimes. So what can we do when we have this inner critic, this voice inside us that doesn’t seem to feel that we’re worthy?