Tryals

Populism begins with grievance but seldom ends there. Grievance graduates to indignation, indignation to rage, finally to vengeance. This is by design. Populists understand the language of conspiracy. The populist leader’s goal is to reach office, then to remain, which requires reliable and enduring popular support. This might make him indistinguishable from any other politician, except that his ambition does not require him to demonstrate governing competence (usually a

Imagine you are enjoying a leisurely weekend stroll along a shady path at the edge of a public park. Suddenly, you stumble upon a surprising scene. You knew this place was called Speaker’s Corner, but had never seen anything of interest before—just a few distracted and mumbling cranks. Now you spot two men at opposite ends of the square speaking with passion and self-assurance, each declaring himself to be the one true Jesus Christ, returned at last for his chosen few. Ea

Suppose for a moment that you were an ambitious politician who wanted to gather a large political following quickly, and as effortlessly as possible. Suppose further that you were sufficiently cynical to think that a majority of your fellow citizens were lazy, self-interested and just a little bit ignorant (excluding, of course, your own friends and family). What would be the most reliable means of persuading the largest number of those lazy, ignorant and selfish people to

Yes, there are still folks in our world who declare—publicly and without obvious embarrassment—that the earth really and truly is, as it seems to superficial observation, flattish. Most of us with a serviceable elementary education are not sure what to make of such people, or whether to take them seriously at all. Could they really hold to such a belief in the face of easily-available evidence or reasonably-accessible experiential arguments? Are they desperate for attentio

Shane said it most memorably in the 1953 film of the same name: “A gun is a tool, Marion, no better and no worse than any other tool—an ax, a shovel, or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” This sentiment has become, for a great many Americans, popular wisdom: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. True enough, but the same can be said of bricks, baseball bats and chopsticks. Generally speaking, however, people kill other people

Liberals don’t get much love these days. They are called many things by their self-appointed enemies. They are called progressives, radicals, socialists, even communists. These are the preferred terms from the right. But their detractors from the left are equally contemptuous, dismissing them as elitists, establishment types, secret conservatives, sellouts, defenders of the status quo. All these opponents, though they agree on little else, will agree to label liberal pos

There is a great deal not to talk about. Many of the things we say every day are probably not worth saying at all, because they are repetitive, pointless, mundane, ill-informed or needlessly offensive. (Sure is some weather we’re having. Oh man, I hate being audited. My goodness, that’s a big elephant. If the world was really round, wouldn’t all the trains be running downhill? Dear God, your wardrobe is hurting my eyes.) Yet we keep on talking, relentlessly, perhaps be