Sarah > Recent Status Updates

I just finished reading the first essay about the village of Hobart vs the Oneida tribal govt. I don’t know a lot about the nuances of Natives expressing sovereignty as it’s a much more pressing issue in the west but it was a great introduction to White/Native relations that can be explained away under the guise of competing economic interests.

So far the first paragraph is pretty introductory, but one paragraph really stood out to me about the dismantling of the archetypal “racist”. The analysis of how racism has become insidious and that the ideology of past civil rights leaders: “After all, if [everyone] can all claim the mantle of being antiracists, how does one identify racism?”

I like Rousseau’s theory of the birth of government. I only engaged with Hobbes’ theory in a class and haven’t personally engaged with his work so I cant compare the two, but the notion that civilized society was created as a plot by the corrupt rich to subdue the corrupt poor is fascinating. I wonder if this theory comes from Rousseau’s political environment more than an accurate measure of ancient behavior.

Since my last note, my favorite essay has been either Nice People or Freedom and the Colleges. I think the beliefs held jn Freedom and the Colleges are important, but it made me think of the problem of tolerance. On what basis can an academic be censured? There are ideologies that no doubt are dangerous but still entice a majority, Nazism being a then recent example. Can the marketplace of ideas really combat hate?

Just finished the part where he talks about metaphysics does not give hope in the way religion does. I never heard of metaphysics before this section, and tried my best to piece together what it was amidst his arguments with the help of Google. I think I need to read it again when more informed to form a more solid opinion.

I really like it so far. It really affirms a lot of my own thoughts on religion and expounds upon ideas that I didn’t have the range to explain myself. I love his idea of the good life and think that’s probably what will stick with me the most after I’m done reading.