Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2006/01/09/letters_to_the_editor.php
Monday, January 9, 2006
Kella's Kwazy Kwanzaa Kwandry
Editors' Note: Kella's website notes that she is "A provocative blend of hip-hop and jazz." Her songs, "an extension of the moment, are a tribute to getting it together and choosing to evolve." She would also like to point out that "sexy and sophisticated she walks into a room and heads turn, hearts flutter and even women can't take their eyes off her. A true Goddess whose natural gifts give us back to ourselves."
Sir—
The story of Kwanza [sic] as posted in your review [sic] is inaccurate and incomplete.
please [sic] try and get the story straight if your [sic] going to print it.
Kella
Kellamusic.com
Divestment: The Right Decision
Sir—
Your November 22nd editorial entitled "Divestment Ad Absurdum" is both correct and foolish. It is correct that divestment is primarily a gesture. But at least it constitutes a formal statement and a purposeful action against an ongoing genocide in Darfur sponsored by Sudan's government.
The Darfur Action Group has little in common with those who indiscriminately advocate divestment from places like Israel or, for that matter, Kansas. The government of Sudan is responsible for the murder of 2.5 million civilians over the last twenty years, most recently in the Darfur region, placing it in the same category as North Korea, Iran, and Iraq pre-2003. It is highly appropriate for Dartmouth students to agitate against such tyranny, even if our activism falls short of ending the atrocities.
The editorial makes at least two "absurd" statements. The first is that Dartmouth students ought to work through non-governmental organizations. Perhaps the Dartmouth Review refers to the farcical United Nations, mother of all NGO's. Sadly, but not particularly surprisingly, Sudan currently sits on the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
Secondly, the suggestion (from a "Kantian perspective" or otherwise) that capitalism is immoral, completely surrenders to the uninformed prejudices of the Left. Free markets have liberated countless millions from crushing poverty and midwifed numerous democratic societies.
In most every situation, a hardnosed investment strategy for the college is the best course of action. However, this is an instance in which conservatives can find common ground with liberal activists who are often too rash in sound the "Divestment" trumpet. In fact, the bi-partisan campaign against Sudan is being led by conservatives across the country. I was spurred to join the Darfur Action Group by an article in National Review.
The bottom line is that genocide in Sudan will likely continue until the top 50 leaders of the Islamic fascist government in Khartoum are captured or killed by United States armed forces. But since that isn't on the agenda right now, this "Problem from Hell" will persist. Until such time as Sudan's dictator, Omar al-Bashir, is sharing a cell with Saddam, by all means, let us at least divest!
Yours Truly,
Nick Travers '09
He's No Do-Gooder
Sir—
I am proud to be a member of the Darfur Action Group, and hopefully it's refreshing to your staff that my response doesn't involve an "activist" rant. Let it be known to you that not all "activists" and members of the DAG plaster Divestment signs on the marching band and sell baked goodies - I personally think that kind of activism contributes to the stereotype you repeatedly perpetuate in your publication. To me, being an activist is as simple as rejecting the notion that we can count on others to care about things like the genocide in Sudan by taking action to the best of our ability.
My proposal to you is this: quit making a mockery of your peers using terms like "do-gooders" (now that's absurbdum), encourage your staff to drop their posts in the Dartmouth Club of Investors and join the Darfur Action Group - you don't have to be an "activist" or back divestment (I never did) - and spend one hour a week doing something outside of your own self-interest and the Dartmouth microcosm. I agree with you, along with others in the DAG, that political discourse and spreading awareness is paramount and a much more logical course of action than divestment. So why don't you join me, bring some different viewpoints to the DAG and help bridge the gap between our groups. So far all you've done is widened it.
Hope to see you all at 8pm in Collis 212 on Thursdays.
Theodore Mathias '09
Oh Henry!
Sir—
I was wondering why Jeffrey Hart didn't include Henry George, and some of his prominent disciples, such as Albert Jay Nock, Frank Chodorov, and William F. Buckley in your list of social thinkers who have impacted American conservatism. George certainly had an influence on the Wilsonian Progressives (Louis Post, a devout Georgist, was Wilson's Secretary of Labor). And Teddy Roosevelt was directly influenced by some of this thought. Instead, you emphasized the Austrian (Mises, Hayek) and Monetarist (Friedman) schools. It's important to note that Mises and Hayek were not home-grown Americans, and had little impact on American thought up until the last 20 years. Also, Friedman, was evidently influenced by Henry George as well, having at least once publicly affirmed his prefererence for George's tax reform proposal (Human Events, 1978).
Henry George, you'll recall, was the author of Progress and Poverty (1879), probably the all-time best seller in America on the subject of Economics, a subject Americans are not particularly fond of. I'm not sure if Kirk ever read George.
So the impact of Henry George on American conservative thought, espcially as it pertains to economics, should not be forgotten. George certainly did not want to keep things as they were, but that, in and of itself, does not disqualify him in the realm of 'conservative' economic thought, because his thinking was essentially libertarian, with a centrist kind of tax proposal that would yank the privilege out from underneath the land lords while liberating the economy of taxation as we know it.
Sincerely,
Bret Barker
Whittier, CA
And We're Better-Looking, Too
Sir—
Don't let this go to your heads, but the Review and your writers are a welcome breath of fresh air I'm sure on campus as well as elsewhere. Your recent articles on rushing the field, the trip to Delaware, and the pumpkin incident demonstrate a true sense of humor not evident in much of today's society, and an appealing joie de vivre. Your liberal friends can't be called dumb, as they did get into the College, but they certainly are not very happy people. Notice that they don't smile much? Everything that those on our side considefun and good upsets them. John Kerry doesn't smile much, but then again he might be concerned about cracking his botox.
George Will did a piece on Bill Buckley, part of which says it all—He: "Patricia, would you consider marriage with me?" She: "Bill, I've been asked this question many times. To others I have said no. To you I say yes. Now may I please get back and finishmy hand?" A liberal would never understand this.
Keep up the fun and games.
Everett P. Strong
Bradenton, Fla.
We'll Pass It On
Sir—
I'd like to compliment Joe Rago for his fine work on the RagoForce article that he wrote in June of 2004. Please pass this on to him if he still works at your paper.
Sincerely,
Joey Rago
Vice President
Rago & Son, Inc.