Introduction: One of the things my father-in-law used to say was, "who has more fun than people?" This old observation of his came back to me for some reason when I started to think about ...
“Right You Are, Chief!” The White/Mahler Debate
Of Necessity
“When there is no standard above the state, then the state becomes the standard. If there is no God above the system, then the system becomes god.”
Leaning the Wrong Way
“We should always remember our propensity to guard against the sin we are least likely to fall into. The indulgent parent is all on guard against tyranny, and the tyrannical parent is very careful not to be too soft.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 17
The One Remaining Nerve
Sin Doesn’t Balance Sin
“In contrast, the dictatorial parent thinks that he is simply being firm, while the indulgent parent thins she is simply being kind. In both cases, they call their failure something else. And on top of that, both types often believe that they’re ‘balancing out’ the other. They each lean in opposite directions in the canoe, which, incidentally, is how you capsize a canoe.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 16
No Coercion at the Center
“Any society requires force for the outliers but is not held together at the center by force. When the ruling elites start to opt out of this societal bond—‘laws are for the little people’—there is usually a time lag, but the little people do catch on. And when they catch on, the whole thing spirals down into chaos.”
Keep Your Kids, pp. 21-22
Feeding or Eating
“This is the behavior of a ruler who devours his people rather than a ruler who feeds his people. You can see the contrast in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus feeds the people by the sea right after Herod throws a banquet where the head of John the Baptist is brought out on a serving platter. One king feeds His people, one king eats his people.”
Keep Your Kids, p. 15
Looks Nice on the Coffee Table
“Godless secularism still maintains an impressive facade. Like an ornate shell of a long dead creature of the deep blue sea, there is enough to keep quite a number of people from pointing out the obvious, to wit, that the shell is hollow.”
The Woke Right, Real and Imagined
Let me begin with an observation that I read somewhere, many years ago. I believe that if we think carefully about it for a few minutes, it will help us navigate our vexed topic. That vexed topic is whether or not there is even such a thing as “the woke right” and, if there is …
No One Fools Around With the Words of their God
“Notice how nobody ever says that the majority opinions in pursuit of judicial activism are ‘living documents’ also. No, you have to interpret their words with sobriety and respect, no funny business, and why? Where respect for the plain meaning of words is demanded, you have identified the god of the system.”