culture
Even if, for a while, I feigned hatred of rock and roll, that only made sense on the presumption of its continued reign. Much the same could be said about liberal democracy. Today, American global hegemony looks like nothing more than a desperate reprisal of a role that must be ceded sooner or later; gone is the possibility of taking it for granted... See more
Justin E. H. Smith • My Generation, by Justin E. H. Smith
One thinks of Amit Majmudar, Christian Wiman, Tracy K. Smith, Ryan Wilson, and many others. These poets are only rarely published in prestigious publications (or, at least, publications with a prestigious legacy), and the group that should be the biggest supporter of these poets—conservatives—has tended to ignore poetry and the arts. When... See more
Micah Mattix • The Integrity of Poetry | Micah Mattix
Sterling Proffer and

The Keatsian endeavor has never been popular, but is particularly unfashionable today. Religious fundamentalists reject it on the grounds that revelation and commitment are needed to orient oneself in the world. The amorality of a poet who is a “thoroughfare for all thoughts” risks heresy or destabilization. Tell me where you stand, where your... See more
Zohar Atkins • The Liberal Arts Are Dying Because Liberalism is Dying
“The contemporary man should not find it difficult to play a role in which modern life is casting him. Glued to his movie or television screen, fed his daily dose of scandals, always watching and never acting, he has become a Peeping Tom.”
Leo Nasskau • René Girard, mimetic desire, and society's biggest rat race
Part of the problem with the Lean Startup mindset is that it sees life and work as an optimization problem. The point is to help people live a good life, not just an efficient life. The goal is human flourishing, not convenience. The goal is a good future, not just a technically advanced future.
Things I'm thinking about

What’s the definition of culture? Culture is what we do to make our survival normal.
