June 2024 Links

The U.S. Constitution, writing excellence, demons, AI mishaps, and more. 9 links.

1. Is the Constitution dead? This is a short video that goes back to first principles and tries to tackle the subject with a little humor.

   Typically, “constitutional” is just a code word for “the status quo.”

   I add my own question to the conversation here: https://x.com/FoundationDads/status/1793019001888518464

2. We shouldn’t desire to go back to the 90’s. Even though some of us have a lot of nostalgia for it. Belief in some “golden age” has already been a temptation for those living in the present.

   Even those wearing the rosiest of rose-colored glasses must admit that the West was already far down the slippery slope by then. Even if we could by some miracle rewind to that slightly higher point, the laws of nature dictate that we would slide right back down again.

3. The principle of “loving your neighbor” versus the practical implications. Teasing out the implications requires wisdom, though many like to wield “neighbor-love” like a cudgel.

   “Love of neighbor” is an ad-lib or choose-your-own-adventure approach to Christian ethics. Take one’s desired outcome and reason backward from it under the supposition that loving one’s neighbor requires unfettered support for the cause at hand and, voilà, all ethical deliberation is complete. 

   Confusion over this matter stems from confusion over the Bible’s moral language.