History

‘The Zone of Interest’ in Forgiveness 8
- Entertainment, History
- March 20, 2024
The Zone of Interest won two Oscars this year. It is a highly stylized dissection of the character of Rudolph Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz. In his cozy home, with a wall separating his family from the horrors of the extermination camp, Höss was the kindly father of five children. On the other side, he was
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The Secret Purpose of Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’2
- Philosophy, Featured, History, Literature
- March 13, 2024
The most common view today of 15th-century Florentine philosopher-statesman Niccolò Machiavelli is that he was evil. Dubbed the founder of modern political philosophy, his evil reputation comes from his most famous work, The Prince, which openly endorses treachery, deceit, and backstabbing as political tactics. So, it’s no wonder that most people’s idea of Machiavelli is
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Samurai Who Weren’t Japanese 0
- History
- March 12, 2024
Many Americans owe their knowledge of Japanese samurai to filmmakers. Renowned for their discipline and courage, the samurai were the military nobility from the 12th century until the abolition of their class by Emperor Meiji in the 1870s. The armored, sword-wielding warriors figured prominently in James Clavell’s 1975 best-selling novel, Shōgun, and its adaptation into a blockbuster TV
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Lessons in Humanity From Prehistoric People 4
- Family, Culture, History, MomThink
- February 23, 2024
In ancient cultures some children were born with Down syndrome and other genetic disorders. But our prehistoric forebears treated them with great respect. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers who studied the DNA of human remains in ancient burial sites. Their global study involved screening DNA from about 10,000 ancient
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The Dead Will Have Their Say 2
- History, Featured, Politics
- February 1, 2024
In his classic work Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton penned these profound words about tradition: Tradition is only democracy extended through time. … Tradition may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit
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War Is Not Just a Western Notion 0
- History
- January 30, 2024
It is well that war is so terrible; otherwise, we should grow too fond of it. – Robert E. Lee “Wars and rumors of wars,” to borrow a well-known Biblical phrase from Matthew 24, seem all too commonplace these days. Is that because more wars are going on now than in the past, or because
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