The Frank Forum

  We are not wholly-individualized beings living in our own orbit; our actions can have negative externalities for those around us.  In a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll , a shocking 41% of Americans said that they supported a ban on reclining seats on airplanes.  I am, proudly, one of the 41%.  Seat-reclination does not happen in a vacuum. It was, in fact, Kamala Harris who in 2023 remarked that "None of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context."  (Read my post about "coconut-conservatism" here .) So, being that we live in a context and are not, as Amitai Etzioni would say , "individual, free-standing agents," why do we care so little for our fellow travelers?  I, being a 6 ft 3 in male, have a special disdain for airplane seat reclination. It is already a tight squeeze in there; to have the person in front of you recline their seat can make sitting comfortably nearly impossible.  I recall one particularly awful flight from Arizona t...

  You'll find varying degrees of dress - or dressiness, if you like - on the political Right.  Claremont fellow, Michael Anton, I am told, is a fastidious dresser. This is evidenced, not just by anecdotes I've heard from colleagues, but by pictures of the man himself. He looks more a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, than a conservative academic.  Similarly, Roger Stone, a beyond-eccentric fellow, with his rather unsettling back tattoo of Richard Nixon, has always been something of a men's fashion influencer. His - what looks to be defunct - fashion blog, Stone on Style , used to feature an annual "Best and Worst Dressed" list, wherein Stone, with what appears to be a well-trained eye for classy dress, celebrates and lambastes the looks of contemporary stars and television personalities.  Some on the Right, however, prefer a more relaxed, or rather, shabby look. I was intrigued by one of Jude Russo's blog posts for The Lamp titled New Pants. In it, Russo ...

  We can't let this election - or any subsequent elections, for that matter - tear us apart.  Our great nation has endured for nearly 250 years, and we will endure past this election, whether Trump or Kamala wins.  Don't fall for the hyperbole that "democracy is on the ballot," That is utter nonsense.  Everyone take a deep breath.  I am, however, very much concerned by the unwillingness of people with disparate ideological perspectives to converse civilly with each other. Political division can, sadly, be our country's death knell. But only if we let it... We must make a concerted effort to see the humanity in everyone, from the MAGA hat-wearing Trumper, to the pro-Kamala, liberal Democrat. Even the Zionist waving the flag of Israel must, at some point, see the good in the student protestor donning her watermelon pin and keffiyeh.  All of this may seem radical, utopian, and naive, but I don't care. If we cannot treat each other with love and grace, we will ...