Marshall McLuhan on media manipulation of peoples and nations

McLuhan, 1969: “There’s nothing at all difficult about putting computers in the position where they will be able to conduct carefully orchestrated programing of the sensory life of whole populations. I know it sounds rather science-fictional, but if you understood cybernetics you’d realize we could do it today. The computer could program the media to… Read More Marshall McLuhan on media manipulation of peoples and nations

Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in an Empire of Desire

“In the arid wasteland that is academic writing, amid the wider desert that is modern secular thought, R. J. Snell’s book on acedia is an oasis of flowers and fruit and fresh water. Professor Snell reminds us that man must never be made subordinate to work, nor even to the empty ‘vacations’ that are but interruptions in work. He… Read More Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in an Empire of Desire

Jesus the Man Who Lives, And the Credulity of Our Age

by Malcolm Muggeridge The coming of Jesus into the world is the most stupendous event in human history. Is our [modern] skepticism one more manifestation of our having–in Bonhoeffer’s unhappy phrase–come of age? It would be difficult to support such a proposition in the light of the almost inconceivable credulity of today’s brain-washed public, who… Read More Jesus the Man Who Lives, And the Credulity of Our Age

U.S. Media Framing Belief as Pathological

… of  Traditional Religious Belief into the Pathological. Observing the not so subtle subtexts in media and their impact in our lives. This Dr. Thomas Hibbs lecture was titled Religious Liberty and Popular Culture Thomas S. Hibbs (November 3, 1960) is an American philosopher and the 9th President of the University of Dallas, a Catholic liberal arts… Read More U.S. Media Framing Belief as Pathological

Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley Jr. on Ayn Rand, 2003

This piece by Whittaker Chambers appeared in the December 28, 1957, issue of National Review. Chambers titled it Big Sister is Watching You. Several years ago, Miss Ayn Rand wrote The Fountainhead. Despite a generally poor press, it is said to have sold some four hundred thousand copies. Thus, it became a wonder of the… Read More Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley Jr. on Ayn Rand, 2003

Malcolm Muggeridge. A Third Testament.

“World-renowned philosopher, humorist, newspaper editor, and university rector, British writer Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990) is best known to American audiences for his book Something Beautiful for God (a classic biography of Mother Teresa that essentially introduced her to the West) and for his frequent appearances on Firing Line. A tart-tongued agnostic, Muggeridge was fascinated by the… Read More Malcolm Muggeridge. A Third Testament.