Monthly Archives: October 2016

Nod Words…

Posted on October 31, 2016 by bsixsmith

“Nod words” inspire approval from one’s ideological allies not because they illuminate or improve your arguments but because they have pleasing implications. For progressives these include “equality”, “progress”, “compassion”, “diversity”, “cooperation” and “deconstruct”. For conservatives these include “tradition”, “imagination”, “order”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Rhetoric | Leave a comment

A Frenchman Talks About Sex, With Predictable Results…

Posted on October 30, 2016 by bsixsmith

The Guardian writes on a history of sex by the French psychiatrist Philippe Brenot. It is astonishing how much garbage one can promote if it has modish implications. Consider this: In the animal kingdom, Brenot argues, there is none of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Sex | 2 Comments

In Praise of Bias…

Posted on October 30, 2016 by bsixsmith

We sometimes talk as if “bias” is a bad thing. It can be. If I want to answer a purely factual question, for example, bias may be an impediment. Yet the fact that we are biased suggests that it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationalism, Scepticism | 2 Comments

Tabloid Trash…

Posted on October 27, 2016 by bsixsmith

It is tempting for people with populist pretensions to defend the tabloid press as the voice of the working man. Sadly, if this were true the working man would be a fool. I have nostalgic memories of tabloid newspapers dating … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Leave a comment

You Don’t Have to be a Hippy to Care About Animals…

Posted on October 26, 2016 by bsixsmith

I am a human exceptionalist for the simple reason that human beings are exceptional. It is a tragedy if an animal dies, for example, mostly if human emotions were affected. The animal had no dreams or even plans. It had … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Ethics | 2 Comments

What is Patriotism?

Posted on October 26, 2016 by bsixsmith

Even by asking the question we display a cold, abstract quality in ourselves, for it is an emotion more than it is an idea. Nonetheless, the question is often asked so it should be answered. A nation is akin to … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Ideology | Leave a comment

The Siberian Ice March

Posted on October 22, 2016 by bsixsmith

Ice, like fire, scorches skin. It stiffens men like ash. We will die clumsily With our sins unredeemed. Spring will melt our graveyard. We will sink like Russia. There will be no summer. These are lands of winter. Did I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

The Migration Mess…

Posted on October 22, 2016 by bsixsmith

I feel for the migrants who arrived in Britain this week. They smiled and waved for the cameras, happy to see a warm welcome, unaware of the hatred their faces would inspire. Maybe some of them are lying about their … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain | Leave a comment

The Slave-Owning Sex Pest and A Note on Self-Criticism…

Posted on October 19, 2016 by bsixsmith

However moral our outward behaviour is, our internal monologue features more dark, disturbing impulses or reflections. Whatever the moral code of this or that society, behind its wall its law and principles will be broken. Man is imperfectible. We are … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Leave a comment

Nick Land on Fascism…

Posted on October 18, 2016 by bsixsmith

The absurd thesis of neoreaction used to be that America was a communist country. Now, it seems, according to Nick Land, America, and Britain, and, I guess, the whole of Europe are fascist. Defining fascism has, of course, been controversial … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment