Why Europeans Don't Like Us

The only two responses to this latest media thread are 1) this is not a surprise, and 2) who cares?

Jonah Goldberg makes some great points on this notion, in his typical wry way. http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg200412160844.asp

Mark Levin also nails it here: http://marklevinfan.blogspot.com/2004/12/history-lesson.html#comments

I have lived and worked in Germany for the past two years, and I have to say that Mark Levin is right -- there are not that many shared values between Europeans and Americans, in spite of all of the diplomatic blather. Most Americans (particularly the founders) are Europeans who rejected Europe and its way of life.

America is the oldest democracy in the world, and Americans are more inclusive and tolerant than Europeans -- who, despite the consensus-posturing in Brussels, are still hampered by petty nationalism and communist tendencies. The types of legislators elected to the European Parliament are a testament to these beliefs.

Americans believe in individual freedom, free markets, and a limited role of government. Europeans, favoring monarchy and socialism, do not believe in these ideals. If they felt strongly enough about them, they would have immigrated to America a long time ago.

National Endowment for the Humanities Essay Contest

The grand prize winner of the National Endowment for the Humanities "Idea of America" Essay Contest is a home-schooled student from Colorado.

The student, Rachel Shafer, writes circles around her peers in public schools. And, in her essay, she cites academic sources that are probably unknown to most students in today's academic institutions. For example, she refers to Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers. This outstanding biography, which describes the close personal and working relationships among the Founding Fathers, should be standard high school or college reading. Of course, academics are too busy cramming works by Barbara Ehrenreich and Howard Zinn into their syllabi to include such important material.

Rachel Shafer’s understanding of the values invoked and expressed in the Gettysburg Address and The Declaration of Independence can be read here: http://www.wethepeople.gov/essay/archive/2004/2004winner.html

Women in Politics

This past Tuesday, the Women's Campaign School at Yale hosted its annual dinner and celebrated the accomplishments of women in elective politics.

However, the focus of many organizations that promote "women in politics" is merely on achieving gender parity in governmental bodies, rather than on creating and nurturing a deeper pool of talent from which candidates for public service can be recruited.

What are women's interests? Who speaks for these interests? And are elected women the only plausible guardians of these interests? Women's issues today transcend the outdated and misrepresented notions of the 1960s feminists, who still insist on promulgating myths about abortion and "equal pay." In contrast, the promotion of small business ownership advances the independence, financial security, and well-being of women in a salutary and systemic way. The expansion of Health Savings Accounts and reforms to Social Security should be on the top of the political agenda for organizations purporting to promote the interests of women. Further, female political candidates should be championing these ideas with even more vigor than their male counterparts, if the ideal of gender equity holds any meaning for them.

What makes a good blog?

The Top Five Ingredients of a Bookmark-Worthy Blog

1. Responsive to and conversant with current events. (e.g., Powerline)
2. Sharp, analytic observations that are intellectually consistent. (e.g., Real Clear Politics)
3. Humor. (e.g., Best of the Web)
4. *Not* a personal life narrative. (*not* Andrew Sullivan)
5. You learn something real, unique, and new. (e.g., The Horserace Blog, The Becker-Posner Blog).

Erlkoenigin

The title of this blog, "Erlkoenigin," pays homage to the genius of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), arguably the greatest modern literary figure apart from Shakespeare. Goethe's seductively written poem Erlkoenig reveals a struggle of ideas between rational and sentimental schools of thought. The actual poem, along with an English translation by Sir Walter Scott, can be found here: http://graham.main.nc.us/~bhammel/erlkng.html

In Genius, an exploration of the top one hundred outstanding and creative minds of all time, Harold Bloom refers to Goethe as "wisest of all men of letters." Indeed, Goethe was not only wise but prescient: the themes of his works are particularly relevant to America's leadership in the world, as America and its allies promote freedom and innovation -- in all of its forms -- across the earth.

Unfortunately, Goethe is startingly undertaught and underappreciated by the current architects of academic curricula. However, as an irreverent and subtle wit, the spirit of Goethe is invoked in the blogosphere -- and remains an ideal symbol for a medium of ideas, rational thought, and insight.