“Modern man has an aversion to form.” - Richard Weaver
Great work Nick! I’d like to discuss this further with you. Two things come to mind. One, Richard Weaver located the beginning of collapse with the loss of Universals, thus his project to return to the forms through primarily rhetoric but also through other cultural forms. Courtesy being one of them. I highly recommend his essay “Forms and Social Cruelty.” As well as all of his works. Also, the work of German sociologist Harmut Rosa on “Resonance” is something I consider frequently, the speed and “logic of escalation” being something that makes manners and courtesy seem quaint and outdated. All in all, you are writing what needs to be written, keep it up, it is a great service to this country.
The main point I want to make about courtesy is that it's simply a universal characteristic of an intact culture. Japan is the example par excellence. But consider: every intact culture, no matter how primitive or advanced, always and everywhere has its dance of courtesy, as I like to call it. Loss of courtesy is only one evidence of a culture that is disintegrating,
Richard Weaver is a treasure.The above quote is a gem of insight, speaking volumes of wisdom in one short sentence. The Left is devoted to destruction - rapid, wholesale, dramatically satisfying to them in the short term. The Right is devoted to construction - slow, painstaking, always imperfect and never fully satisfying; but that is the reality of life.
For example, Bach was devoted to form, and form enables variation and creativity. Arnold Schoenburg and his ilk disdain form. Everyone adores Bach, and he will be performed and appreciated forever. Schoenburg, no. In the absence of the discipline of form, there is mere chaos and ugliness. "Things fall apart. The center cannot hold." But this is precisely what the Left desires. Marx wrote that he wanted to "destroy everything existing."
“Modern man has an aversion to form.” - Richard Weaver
Great work Nick! I’d like to discuss this further with you. Two things come to mind. One, Richard Weaver located the beginning of collapse with the loss of Universals, thus his project to return to the forms through primarily rhetoric but also through other cultural forms. Courtesy being one of them. I highly recommend his essay “Forms and Social Cruelty.” As well as all of his works. Also, the work of German sociologist Harmut Rosa on “Resonance” is something I consider frequently, the speed and “logic of escalation” being something that makes manners and courtesy seem quaint and outdated. All in all, you are writing what needs to be written, keep it up, it is a great service to this country.
The main point I want to make about courtesy is that it's simply a universal characteristic of an intact culture. Japan is the example par excellence. But consider: every intact culture, no matter how primitive or advanced, always and everywhere has its dance of courtesy, as I like to call it. Loss of courtesy is only one evidence of a culture that is disintegrating,
Richard Weaver is a treasure.The above quote is a gem of insight, speaking volumes of wisdom in one short sentence. The Left is devoted to destruction - rapid, wholesale, dramatically satisfying to them in the short term. The Right is devoted to construction - slow, painstaking, always imperfect and never fully satisfying; but that is the reality of life.
❤️ exactly Thomas
This was an incredible article and conversation, you have provided an insight that is unique and powerful, I look forward to reading it again
For example, Bach was devoted to form, and form enables variation and creativity. Arnold Schoenburg and his ilk disdain form. Everyone adores Bach, and he will be performed and appreciated forever. Schoenburg, no. In the absence of the discipline of form, there is mere chaos and ugliness. "Things fall apart. The center cannot hold." But this is precisely what the Left desires. Marx wrote that he wanted to "destroy everything existing."