In the October issue of The Critic, the critical doctor takes issue with a seemingly innocuous statement from the chairman of the organizing committee for the Paris Olympic Games.
An action or choice can perfectly well be bold without being good. It can be bold and stupid, or bold and vicious, or bold and cruel, or bold and any number of horrible things. Boldness is not a good in itself.
In his weekly Takimag column, our miffed doctor satirizes various preposterous, perverted, and pernicious woke positions, which have tragically spread far and wide in the Western world.
But in this vale of tears, it seems, going straight to the heart of the matter is both unwelcome and unimportant. The mouthing of sentiments without examination of their presuppositions, their implications, their corollaries, and their consequences is all that is necessary to obtain a reputation for wisdom and goodness.
Over at City Journal, the skeptical doctor begins to consider the validity of the notion of liberal fascism, following numerous cases of British police arresting anti-Hamas protestors and people praying silently near abortion clinics.
On the other hand, tens of thousands of people are permitted to demonstrate time and time again, to the great inconvenience of the rest of the public, in effect supporting the mass murder of 1,200 Israelis by a terrorist organization and calling for the deaths of millions of others. This has become a “liberal” cause and is therefore protected.
Professor Dalrymple provides his faithful readers with a comprehensive guide to the post-lunch nap (i.e., siesta) in his Oldie article.
I have found by experience that, from the point of view of mental acuity, a short sleep, even for a minute or two, is as good as – or better than – a longer one.
In his latest Takimag piece, the good doctor reflects on the topic of human stupidity after reading an interesting French book on the subject.
Stupidity is like measles in the old days: Everyone has to go through it. But there is no possible immunization against stupidity. If anything, its prevalence seems to have risen with tertiary education and yet further with the so-called social media. Artificial intelligence will boost it to new heights, or depths.
In the summer edition of City Journal, Dr. Dalrymple raises some common sense concerns over the attempted normalization of the mental disorder known as gender dysphoria over the past decade in many Western countries. Of course, common sense is not so common in this day and age.
The entire phenomenon over the last decade or so should lead us to two large questions: Have we gone mad? And what, as a society, are we doing to children?
In last week´s Takimag column, our favorite doctor ruminates on the consequences of yet another ridiculously politically correct Guardian headline, this time related to the prestigious Booker Prize.
To celebrate the preponderance of one demographic group or another in some area of achievement is a mark of identitarian politics, the kind of politics that is destructive and enfeebling. I would rather say that the judges were to be congratulated on choosing the six best books—if they succeeded in doing so—than that their choice was to be celebrated.
Our concerned doctor warns his readers of the troubling development of the absurd acceptance of vandalism by many Western ‘intellectuals’ in the pursuit of whatever the latest leftist craze happens to be. Our readers are advised to read all the way to the end of this Epoch Times piece for a happy and just ending to this particular sad and disgraceful saga.
Of course, vandalism in the name of a good cause would be permitted only for those causes that found favor with the intelligentsia of the day: One can just imagine the outcry if someone damaged a painting in protest against illegal immigration. The result, de facto, would be publicly licensed vandalism.
In the October edition of New English Review, our philosophical doctor considers the evolutionary development of a common beetle, the curse of having been informed early of his high intelligence, and the pursuit of the good life.
The question raises that of the good life. What is the proper end for a person to pursue? Does anything actually matter, given the size of the universe, the second law of thermodynamics, the transience of life, the inevitability of death and the infinitude of time?