"people for whom 'history' is whatever happened two weeks ago, the same people who will be likely to assure us in their next breath that Britney Spears, or some other confection du jour, is the greatest pop singer 'of all time.' Imagine that. All time. That term might even span as much as a whole decade."
Wilfred M. McClay in First Things February 2002
In my latest National Post column I call the availability of a genuine Stalin statue on e-Bay a reminder of a strange double standard about evil on the left.
“I find it enormously interesting that this approach [that the law is what the sovereign commands] to finding a replacement for a transcendental source of values involves, in effect, a redirection of metaphorical energy: to find a human equivalent for God, there is a focus not on God’s goodness, but on his Power. It makes sense.”
Arthur Allen Leff, “Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural Law,” Duke Law Journal Vol. 1979 #6
"It was said that the noble Don Quixote de la Mancha had been the last of the true knights. After his death, his trusted sword and his armour were sold to pay his debts. But somehow or other that sword seems to have fallen into the hands of a number of men. Washington carried it during the hopeless days of Valley Forge. It was the only defence of Gordon, when he had refused to desert the people who had been entrusted to his care, and stayed to meet his death in the besieged fortress of Khartoum. And I am not quite sure but that it proved of invaluable strength in winning the Great War."
Hendrick Van Loon The Story of Mankind
“Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognized as king of England. Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?”
Hendrick Van Loon The Story of Mankind.
In my latest National Post column I suggest that a habit of counting our blessings on Canada would help preserve them.