Work, work, work. I would have blogged sooner had I the time- for once my deficit was of time only and not of ideas- but the last two weeks were piled ceiling high, since I now need to read augment the normal work for my six classes with research for my Honors Thesis, the preliminary to my Honors Capstone project. The first draft of the thesis proposal is due in less than
three weeks. My subject is to be man under democracy according to de Tocqueville and Nietzsche. Many and interesting are the reflections I have had on the two, especially de Tocqueville, whose attempts to legitimize modern democracy for the faithful, and his belief that religion and piety can be relied upon to moderate modern egalitarianism in the long run, leave much to be desired (looks pretty suave though; Nietzsche not so much). Nietzsche, a half century later, got it right in
Twilight of the Idols when, in a "whisper to conservatives", he explains that [within the dialectics of a modern democracy] man cannot be stopped where he is, but- one can almost hear his voice turn from snickering to gentle sympathy- is doomed to become weaker and weaker, to devolve unto the last man. Elsewhere, he contends that Darwin misunderstood evolution- it is
the weaker and more numerous members of the species, not the superior few, who prevail. Though Nietzsche's vision is much more hostile to the Faith than de Tocqueville's, those of Catholic sensibilities are unlikely to find Nietzsche's condemnations of "pity" as he finds it in the Christian religion damning. De Tocqueville, however, offers what I see as a false remedy to the degradations democracy affects on the human spirit, a problem Nietzsche addresses with the utmost zeal. Though he was, as one of his works is entitled, an
Antichrist, his wisdom is the refutation of the divers Antichrists of our own day (John Rawls, Fareed Zakaria, I could go on and on...)
Okay, maybe I've had
some free time. But I tell you, if I couldn't keep up with Ryoma Echizen,
The Prince of Tennis, and the rest of the Seigaku Tennis Club as they try to become prefectural champs, my life would simply be over. Yes, anime has managed to get me, that most un-sportive of men, into a tennis show! On a more typical note, I've also gotten into
Rosario + Vampire. The series is, by way of understatement, risque, so there are few excuses to promote it on a Catholic blog. Excepting that one of the protagonists, Akashiya Moka, is a vampire whose powers are hidden unless the cross
on the "rosario" on her chest is removed by her friend Aono Tsukune, the main character. Not much like an actual rosary, but I find these vacuous usages of popish things, especially when they involve a cute and innocent damsel like Moka, irresistible.
One final thing. Today I was reading through the Hobbes chapter of Pierre Manent's
An Intellectual History of Liberalism. Hobbes being so evil, I desired to make light of his thoughts with some humor. Then I thought back to
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which I read just before the semester began. Pondered I, wouldn't it be cool if instead of the Leviathan ruling,
The Cheshire Cat was LARGE and IN CHARGE!!!
A Happy Halloween to all! I have often thought on what a unique holiday Halloween is: in modern times, it is the only day of the year a person may arrive at a stranger's door and expect hospitality- what would the ancient Greeks think? Consider it fortunate that confectioners took charge of Halloween festivities instead of Mattel. Our Pundit, in case you should wonder, dressed up for the occasion on Thursday (Taylor Dining Hall had their festivities early). Donning a scary skull mask, I bore a tray I found in a lounge (it's mine!) and taped a paper reading: "Bring trays back... from the DEAD" on the front. A hit, as expected.
