In Book I, Chapter VII of The Discourses on Livy, Machiavelli writes: [N]othing makes a republic so stable and strong as organizing it in such a way that the agitation of the hatreds which excite it has a means of expressing itself provided for by the laws….whenever one finds foreign forces being called in byContinue reading “Machiavelli On The Unjust Republic’s Susceptibility To Treason”
Author Archives: Samir Chopra
A Bedtime Story About ‘Immigration And Separation’
Last week, as is our custom at home, I read to my daughter before I put her to bed. (We pick a mix of ‘long stories’ and ‘short stories’ and settle on a number beforehand, one which has to be conformed to by a ‘promise.’) On this particular night, the ‘long story’ was Edwidge Danticat‘s Mama’sContinue reading “A Bedtime Story About ‘Immigration And Separation’”
James Cozzens On The Supposed Theater Of The Law
In The Just and the Unjust (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1942, p. 9) James Gould Cozzens writes: It might be argued that providing spectacles was not now, or ever, the office of a court of law. Good in theory, in practice these arguments overlooked the fact that spectators made anything they watched a spectacle,Continue reading “James Cozzens On The Supposed Theater Of The Law”
Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson, And The Temptations Of Charitable Work
In his New Yorker profile of Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, George Packer writes: Afghanistan—mountains, deserts, ungoverned spaces—has always seemed to offer a blank slate for utopian dreamers: British imperialists, hippie travellers, Communists, Islamists, international do-gooders. Jon Krakauer’s trenchant takedown of the Greg Mortenson Three-Cups-Of-Tea myth in Three Cups of Deceit offers a depressing confirmationContinue reading “Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson, And The Temptations Of Charitable Work”
On Hoping For The Miracle Of Precocity
A few days ago, I met some neighbors, out for a walk with their son (who was riding in a stroller.) As we chatted, they turned to their son and asked him a question or two. Answers were not forthcoming. They pressed on, but there was no response. These questions were innocent ones: “What numberContinue reading “On Hoping For The Miracle Of Precocity”
Cioran on Academic Writing’s ‘Forms of Vulgarity’
In ‘The Addict of Memoirs’ (from Drawn and Quartered, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1983/2012), E. M. Cioran writes: Is there a better sign of “civilization” than laconism? To stress, to explain, to prove–so many forms of vulgarity. Bergson is said to have said–somewhere–that time spent in refutation is time wasted¹. There is, evidently, a sympathy betweenContinue reading “Cioran on Academic Writing’s ‘Forms of Vulgarity’”
The Implausible Immigrants Of ‘The Night Of’
In HBO’s The Night Of a young Pakistani-American, Nasir Khan, has a bad night out: he ‘borrows’ his father’s cab for a joyride, picks up a mysterious and beautiful stranger, parties with her, and wakes up in her apartment to find her dead, and himself accused of murder. Things look bad, very bad. And so we’reContinue reading “The Implausible Immigrants Of ‘The Night Of’”
Why Faculty Lock-Outs Are Irresponsible And Inappropriate
In response to my post on Sunday making note of the lock-out of faculty at Long Island University (LIU), a Facebook friend wrote on my page: So, I don’t understand. What makes university professors any different than people who work any other job? If you don’t like the pay, or don’t like the working conditions,Continue reading “Why Faculty Lock-Outs Are Irresponsible And Inappropriate”
Long Island University’s Labor Day Gift To The Nation: A Faculty Lock-Out
Some university administrators manage to put up a pretty good front when it comes to maintaining the charade that they care about the education of their students–they dip into their accessible store of mealy mouthed platitudes and dish them out every turn, holding their hands over their hearts as paeans to the virtues of edificationContinue reading “Long Island University’s Labor Day Gift To The Nation: A Faculty Lock-Out”
Hillary Clinton Prepares The Inaugural Ball’s Invitee List
This is an election season about the rich, the richer, and the richest. As it should be, since multimillionaires are running for election, and on their way to the presidency, hanging out with the folks who will have the most access to them after the coronation. In this regard, just like in the election polls,Continue reading “Hillary Clinton Prepares The Inaugural Ball’s Invitee List”
Samir Chopra 