Tear Down These Walls

2009-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

11.09.09

I was only four years old on this day in 1989, and only have a fuzzy image in my mind from a news report I saw some time afterward. The image was of a man banging a sledgehammer against a concrete wall, an action whose significance I still do not entirely grasp.
The fall of the Berlin Wall needs no further memorializing by one so far removed from the event as myself. Having grown up in America I know nothing other than the freedom of which so many East Germans got their first taste on the that chilly November night. I cannot know the pain of those who labored in East Germany and under totalitarian regimes throughout time and throughout the world. But I can acknowledge my lack of understanding and further recognize the need to remember not only those who gained their freedom in the wave of liberation that swept the Communist Bloc in the late '80s, but to remember those who still suffer at the hands of oppressive governments. In Iran, Zimbabwe, Burma, and other nations, millions still live under the shadow of walls just as imposing as the one that tumbled down twenty years ago. How do we, as witnesses to the marvel of East Germany's surrender to the universal principle of freedom and recipients of the bounties that democracy brings, help those who suffer at the hand of their government strike at these metaphorical walls with their own sledgehammers?

The Inspiration and Purpose of the Blog Explained

2009-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, a man started a magazine that expressed his political views and rage against the injustices and problems of what he perceived to be a godless and far too liberal society, a magazine that he claimed would stand "athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so." More recently, a Greek-American woman started a website, a blog to which articles and columns explaining the foolishness and idiocy of the contemporary, conservative political regime were and are posted in an attempt to inform the public of the many current horrors that conservatism has wrought upon America and the world. National Review was the late William F. Buckley's attempt to defend his political beliefs, and The Huffington Post is Arianna Huffington's. Curiosity and Contempt is mine.

The biggest difference between the two people mentioned above and myself, besides all of the obvious discrepancies in education and status and wealth, is commitment to a particular set of political values and principles. Essentially, Buckley and Huffington have exhibited unwavering support for their respective world views, while my political and ethical beliefs have changed and continue to evolve. Both of their respective publications were established with the aim of defending a particular political dogma, while mine is intended to probe deep and complex issues to which there is no simple solution. This is not to say that I have no biases or strong opinions. The truth is that while many of my views are entrenched in fortresses of experience and ignorance, I know that I am certainly wrong on several points and have much to learn from rigorous and honest debate with others. I don't know what I will learn or teach to others through this blog, or if it will be a worthwhile undertaking. Whatever the case may be, I vow that Curiosity and Contempt will be a space for serious discourse on the events of the day and more importantly what they say about the limits and nature of human existence.

This is not a space for O'Rielys and the Maddows of the world to call each other communists and fascists. It is a place where I will post articles and blurbs about politics, economics, history and philosophy. I will not tolerate juvenile comments but instead urge thoughtful and inquisitive people to probe their own beliefs and discern what is useful and what is not. As I stated earlier, I have biases. They will be apparent on this blog. I apologize in advance. At the current time, my biggest propensity when engaging in political thought is to question the potential of both individual and political action in a time when so many citizens of democratic nations seem to be losing control over their societies. Is this an inevitable consequence of larger countries and globalization, or can government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" be saved from death? This question has no easy answers, but will assuredly bring about many more questions. Matters of ethics, economics, and the purposes of life will all be relevant. To any of you who have an interest in these topics and hope to come closer to an understanding of the struggles of human existence, please join me on this journey. Let your curiosity motivate you to examine in greater detail the mysteries of life. Let your contempt for the injustices and corruption that plague our democracy drive you to ponder the possibilities of social improvement. This is, as best I can put it, the purpose of this blog.