Let's finish off the book with an important declaration... But first:

Intellectuals on the Left were not the only ones to consider the significance of 9/11. Their conservative counterparts also had some things to say, many of them highly critical of the way the Left was responding. Commentary, the premier neoconservative journal, featured a number of these criticisms. The most ambitious and wide ranging of them was an article in January of 2005 by David Gelernter, entitled “Americanism— and Its Enemies.”

In the article Gelernter defines “Americanism” as “the set of beliefs that are thought to constitute America’s essence and to set it apart; the beliefs that make Americans positive that their nation is superior to all others—morally superior, closer to God.” Americanism is not some sort of “secular” or “civil” religion but “in fact a Judeo-Christian religion; a millenarian religion; a biblical religion.” He traces its origin to the religion of Puritans. After noting the powerful force of Puritanism as a cause of the English Civil Wars and the migration to New England, he adds: “And then it simply disappeared.” Or so it seemed. But “I believe that Puritanism did not drop out of history. It transformed itself into Americanism.”

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The polemical part of his article comes near the end, where he implies that those who do not share his laudatory concept of Americanism are therefore anti-American.

You read it here, folks: the American tradition resulted from the Puritan, antinomian forces of the English Civil War and the migrations that followed. If you see those antinomians as villainous, then it follows that the American ideology is the fruit of a rotten branch of a wicked tree, and it's about time that you start calling yourself "Anti-American."

Skimming through this today.

America makes a lot of sense when you conceive of it as comprising, though not universally, different segments that were trying to escape various religious doctrines.

Zoar is the home of a communistic society who call themselves “Separatists,” and who founded the village in 1817, and have here become quite wealthy. They originated in Würtemberg, and, like the Harmony Society, the Inspirationists, and others, were dissenters from the Established Church. The Separatists of southern Germany were equivalent to what in New England are called “Come Outers”—protestants against the prevailing religious faith, or, as they would say, lack of faith.

Notice the directionality. "The tradition I was born into, raised in: not good enough. They lack faith. I will now go and start my own religious movement, as I know better and do have faith."

Seems like a very prideful sort of thinking, and a sort of thinking that it foundational to the American temperament.

A sentence that requires no introduction:

In fact, the Germans make better communists than any other people—unless the Chinese should some day turn their attention to communistic attempts.

What I have seen of these people in California ... leads me to believe that they are well calculated for communistic experiments.

You don't say...

You can't use the word "yooper." That's our word. But you can say "yoopa."

Good morning.

My brother, this word, "illegal," is a curious one.

Snowy roads... Take me home...

Noted.

Plato, in his Republic, suggested that a wise ruler might consider the banning of plays. His reasons included the emotional manipulation of the audience and, critically, the corruption of the actor's soul; the act of pretending to be someone else was seen as a dangerous and confusing blurring of identity, creating disorder within the actor's soul.

Now, consider this idea applied to modern entertainment: if Plato hated the actor pretending on stage, imagine his reaction to video games. Plato would hate this new art form even more than he hated plays. The consumer—the one being taught and influenced by the art—is now directly stepping into that pretending role formerly occupied by the actor. He embodies an avatar and makes choices within a fictional narrative. This direct, participatory embodiment of another self is precisely what is found in the plurality, if not majority, of video games, making them the ultimate realization of the mimetic art he had objected to.

The video gamer has stepped into the position of being corrupted by both edges of Plato's criticism: he is both the manipulated and is pretending. Put down the controller.

Average Telegrammer be like:

Roads are doin' okay.