Greetings from the Last Homely House! Quiet week here - I taught a finance course to a physician leadership course this morning which was fun, and Friday I am going back to the high school I graduated from to talk to their health professions classes. That should be interesting. I don’t think I have been inside the building in 30 years.
My wife has decided to join me in doing a photograph every day. I don’t have time to get outside with my camera every day so I wind up doing a lot of macro (i.e., close-up) still life work during these challenges. Like the one above, which is a picture of a salt cellar my father made for us.
OK - it’s links Wednesday! No real theme - just a mixed bag. I hope you find them interesting.
And that’s it from me. As usual, willing good for all of you!
Read
What: Law and Liberty, The Truth about Demographic Decline
Why: I’ve been citing Peter Zeihan, a political demographer, a lot lately, and he has me thinking much more about population change - what he calls demographic decline. He has something specific in mind - the shrinking ratio of young to old. This article presents a more agnostic perspective:
We don’t know the “right” demographic outcome, best for human flourishing. But we can make a good guess that people know for themselves their own best outcome, and when we ask them about that in surveys, we find most people are experiencing “demographic decline”: seeing young people around them suffer and die excessively from drugs, alcohol, suicide, and homicide; struggling to find a suitable and stable partner while youth remains to enjoy them fully; confronting infertility due to long delays in initiation of childbearing. These are what we should mean by “demographic decline” because these are the “tragedies” under the “statistics.”
The whole thing is worth reading.
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What: WSJ, Ben Sasse, America’s True Divide: Pluralists vs. Zealots
Why: I don’t agree with Ben Sasse on a lot of things (he’s a religious conservative; I am a secular classical liberal), but I am so sad that we have lost him in the Senate. He had real moral courage. He stood up to the nonsense of his own party and I suspect that is why he is leaving.
From the editorial:
The small but important role of government, for the civic pluralist, is a framework for ordered liberty. Government doesn’t give us rights, or meaning, or purpose or permission. It exists to protect us from the whims of mobs and majorities.
Political zealots reject this, holding that society starts and ends with power. Government in their view isn’t to protect from the powerful or the popular. More than anything else, zealots—on the right and the left—seek total victory in the public square.
Read the whole thing.
If you have never listened to him speak, check out his exit interview below.
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Watch
What: Conor Neil, Getting your first job... advice from Jose Antonio, the Vespa Guy (2 min’ish)
https://youtube.com/shorts/IUu5vF_eMGk?feature=share
Why: Conor Neil always has great, short pieces. He offers 3 points new grads should talk about in a job interview. Worth a quick listen even if you are not a new grad.
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What: Michael Cain, Use the Difficulty (2 min’ish)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnJSKc9qspz/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D
Why: Michael Cain talks about his philosophy of “Use the difficulty”. I could have used that over Christmas weekend when the power went out.
I don’t think I’ve ever shared an Instagram Reel before, but this super short (about two min) and fun and actually really good advice.
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Listen
What: People I (Mostly) Admire, Peter Singer Isn’t a Saint, But He’s Better Than Steve Levitt (58 min)
Why: Peter Singer may be one of the world’s most famous living philosophers. And I have never read any of his work because what I have heard of him is he favors what I consider leftist causes. I almost skipped this interview when I saw it was him. But that is the kind of self-editing of sources that is particularly pernicious, especially today. So I forced myself to listen and I came away with a real admiration for his methodical approach, even if I didn’t agree with everything he had to say (or most of it). I’ve decided I am going to read one of his books this year because he is a sound thinker, even if his reasoning to doesn’t land where I want it to go.
I should say that you should not read or listen to people just because they disagree with you. You should read or listen to the best of the people who disagree with you. You don’t have to listen to fools, regardless of their beliefs.
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What: The Dispatch Podcast, Sen. Sasse's Exit Interview (27 min)
Why: Sasse’s priorities were and continue to be workforce development and national security. These are real and pressing causes. As I said above, it is such a loss to the American public that he is no longer a senator. He’s heading to be President of the University of Florida.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next week!
Mark
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picaso