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May 2003
The Archives
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Lessons from Alisdair MacIntyre
05.13.03 | Permalink | 2 CommentsThe usual concept of altruism–that giving is truly generous only when the giver gains absolutely nothing from the act of giving–is a cynical rhetorical move to justify the primacy of self-centered behavior. In addition to those-things-that-are-mind-but-not-yours, and those-things-that-are-yours-and-not-mine, there are also those-things-that-are-mine-only-insofar-as-they-are-yours-too. In fact, human life only persists because of these common goods–the biosphere and […]
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A God-talk of expedient means
05.11.03 | Permalink | 4 CommentsFrom a paper I wrote in seminary, during the waning days of my identifying as a Christian. I’m reminded that I posted this on a now defunct website I called “the center for spiritual procrastination.” Our larger question concerns how God operates in this borderless city. Georges Bataille has suggested that life is so fecund […]
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No more activists
05.09.03 | Permalink | 5 CommentsThe Howard Dean meetup was mostly good. About half of the people there (and most of the leadership) had never helped with a political campaign before. Some have never voted. If this is a sign of things to come, Dean is going to be tough to beat. Dean’s meetup has 22,000 people registered, the third largest […]
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Lack of empathy
I didn’t cry when Princess Di died. I get excited when there’s a tornado warning, even though it means people could die. I laugh at people who think standing in a doorway will help. And I can’t sympathize with animated oven mitts doing painful sit-ups under the direction of a personal trainer named Lars, even […]
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Best quote from the first Democratic presidential debate
From Rev. Al Sharpton: “The Bush tax cuts are like Jim Jones’ Kool-Aid–it tastes good, but it’ll kill you.” Whoever wins the nomination should hire him as a speech writer.
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