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Reason. Compassion. Forbearance. Selflessness. These are not the hallmarks or our time.

(Fifth in a series; first part here, second part here, third part here, fourth part here.)

Reason. Compassion. Forbearance. Selflessness. These are not the hallmarks or our time.

We live in an ascendant cycle of fear, anger, violence, and reprisal. (To see it all summed up in one small, fetid package, read this.) But progressives should not pretend that the cycle is of any use to them, or that its force can be marshaled to more noble ends. We might gain some short-term victories by scaring the crap out of people, but a population in fear will always tend toward authoritarianism and violence.

Reason, compassion, forbearance, and selflessness are the building blocks of true progressivism. If they have been driven underground, the progressive response should not be to resort to reactionary macho posturing, but to revive them.

Jason D. Scorse tries to clear up the confusion

There is a lot of confusion over the meaning of free markets and property rights, for a variety of reasons. The following are some additional clarifications for all interested environmentalists (please see earlier posts for some background):

We will build nothing, create nothing, inspire nothing of worth while in the grip of fear.

(Fourth in a series; first part here, second part here, third part here.)

We will build nothing, create nothing, inspire nothing of worth while in the grip of fear.

It is often said that violence "sends a message" to this or that recipient. Often the alleged message is about the firmness of our resolve -- "we really mean it!" We send messages of this nature to the Middle East fairly regularly these days; its inbox is full. Israel sends the message to Lebanon. Russia sends the message to Chechnya. Indonesia sends the message to its separatists. And so on.

This is bullshit of the most pernicious possible sort.

David Benton, head of the Marine Conservation Alliance, answers questions

David Benton. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance, based in Juneau, Alaska. What does your organization do? MCA is a nonprofit organization established by the Alaska seafood industry that promotes sustainable fishing. America has an increasing appetite for healthy seafood, but we must be sure that […]

Umbra on fire-fighting chemicals

Dear Umbra, Nearly every day, I can hear slurry bombers (planes that dump bright pink goo at the edges of fires) zooming overhead. I think the bright pink goo is a flame retardant, which seems to recently have gotten a bad reputation as a carcinogen. Not only that, but folks who have dogs here claim […]

Wrong as Rain

Acid rain and dirty air bedevil China and Hong Kong One-third of China’s landmass was hit with acid rain last year, according to a government report, posing a grave threat to soil health and food safety. Fast-growing China is the world leader in acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide emissions, which rose 27 percent in the country from […]

Fear and environmentalism: quote of the day

War swallows up lesser distinctions. That, God help us, is what so many people like about it.

We’re all in the energy business now

Great stuff from Joel Makower about the new energy companies:

Shell

Interesting comments from the U.S. president of Shell.

Hemp in the U.S.?

I guess if any state would be the first to overturn the cosmically absurd prohibition on hemp farming, it would be California.