The other day I picked up Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the pamphlet that played a huge role in promoting the American War for Independence. Knowing that Paine is generally regarded as a strong atheist, I was startled to see how many biblical references he used in his argument. It wasn’t long before I realized Paine
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The death a few days ago of Muhammad Ali, an icon of boxing as well as racial equality, reminds me and others of something that you too may have noticed: how violent language is increasingly being used to describe disagreement. One public figure criticizing another is “attacking” or “bashing” the other. When somebody’s reasoning is
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When I was in grade school, one of the annual highlights of my summer was the day my friends and I went on a field trip to an old one-room schoolhouse. To all of us, the day was an opportunity to “be like Laura [Ingalls]” by dressing up, having spelling bees, and reading lessons out
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Between 1920 and 1933 America engaged in a “Noble Experiment”—prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes” via the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment was repealed in 1933. As
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A couple of months ago, when I first began writing for Intellectual Takeout, I wrote a piece about the difference between arguing and quarreling. I referred to G. K. Chesterton’s quip, concerning his relationship with his brother, that they were always arguing but they never quarreled. Chesterton’s point is that arguing is good, whereas quarreling
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Consumer advocate Ralph Nader was interviewed by Lydia DePillis of Pacific Standard magazine on Monday, and the left-wing populist had some interesting things to say. You can read the entire interview here, which is pretty colorful and interesting. (Nader is nothing if not blunt and entertaining in his assessments.) Below are some of the highlights.
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