Comments for The Northern Agrarian

Comment on About Me by Logan

Logan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:25:22 +0000

Pat,

Impossible.

Comment on About Me by Patrick J. Ford

Patrick J. Ford — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:52:08 +0000

Sam,

Interesting points all around. The DC punk scene does bring up an interesting dichotomy in punk music: its inability to get its message out but its message’s reliance on the exact type of behavior that kept it out of the mainstream.

Ultimately you are right in that it is a question of wording. You are right to say it sounds obnoxious (but that hasn’t stopped me in the past), but both of your following clarifications (Perhaps a more accurate assessment is that you want to keep certain spheres of your life separated from technology? Or that you hope to cordon off certain places/times where you can escape from it?) are indeed what I was getting at. Maybe a change in wording is in order.

Logan,

Get a life.

Comment on About Me by Logan

Logan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:38:05 +0000

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone else who claims to want to live “as free of technology as possible” who owns 2 computers, an iPod, and a blackberry storm.

Comment on About Me by Sam

Sam — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:38:25 +0000

Doesn’t the history of the DC punk scene actually offer some interesting insight into this argument? A band lioke Fugazi certainly wanted to “get its argument out.” And to do that to the fullest, it could have made videos, appeared on TRL, worked with TicketMaster, etc. But it’s commitment to a different worldview precluded that approach. So the band “suffered” with less exposure than it could have had., And reached far fewer people. But in the end, the message it conveyed was more “pure.” Right? So if a commitment to living free of technology is really one of the core values… doesn’t a Smartphone and a blog kind of… run counter to that?

I guess the question is, when does the quest for technology become slavish and degrading? Do you have a sense of when that happens or why? I think the Amish might hacve some interesting insights. They actually use phones, you know. They are just not allowed in the house.

So it seems that you are not alone with this conundrum. But I think it might come doen to a question of wording. TO say that you want to live “as free of technology as possible” can seem kind of obnoxious, especially when typed onto the interwebs. That sounds an awful lot like, “I hate technology, except when I don’t.” Perhaps a more accurate assessment is that you want to keep certain spheres of your life separated from technology? Or that you hope to cordon off certain places/times where you can escape from it?

Sheesh. Even Henry Rollins has a beer from time to time, I think.

Comment on Edmund Burke, Anarcho-Conservative by Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:20:44 +0000

Inspiring piece. I think it’s a stretch to call Burke an “anarcho-conservative” because he obviously had a preference for the State over anarchy (despite his appreciation of anarchy’s apparent success in MA). The entire body of work reveals a man who is conflicted between his anti-statist leanings and his need to protect tradition and morality through the State. He never fully embraces the idea that governance can be had without government.
A wonderful piece though, and it has certainly increased my appreciation of Burke.

Comment on About Me by Trent Hill

Trent Hill — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:55:42 +0000

Patrick,

We ought to put together a group-blog, or a blog-aggregator, for all the people who usually write for YAR. Dan Mccarthy, me, you, and whomever else wants to join in on the fun (maybe Bill Kaufman and Tom Woods?). No, but I think if the various student-contributors did a blog-aggregator or group-blog it could be thought provoking, fun, and consistently interesting.

BTW: I had no idea you were Deputy Editor and Editor of your school’s newspaper. Im just one of the Contributing Editors of YAR, but thats cool.

Comment on Edmund Burke, Anarcho-Conservative by www.new-right.org » News Briefs

www.new-right.org » News Briefs — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:34:22 +0000

[...] Edmund Burke, Anarcho-Conservative: “The monarchic, and aristocratical, and popular partisans have been jointly laying their axes to the root of all government…” [...]

Comment on About Me by Logan

Logan — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:06:33 +0000

Fantastic semantic argument.

Comment on About Me by Patrick J. Ford

Patrick J. Ford — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:03:58 +0000

I believe it to be impossible to live a fulfilling life in 2009 and live life to the fullest without using on occasion those technologies. Notice I said “free” from it. Free does not insinuate a complete separation but an ability to live unencumbered by something.

Comment on About Me by Logan

Logan — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:00:41 +0000

Ah, but you claim that you wish to be as unencumbered “as possible” by technology. That doesn’t mean that you can’t live without technology, but it does mean that you live without technology that it is possible to live without.

Unless you are arguing that it is, categorically, impossible to live without a cell phone, laptop, and desktop computer, then you are not, forgive me for saying it, living as free of technology as possible.

And if you are not living as free of technology as possible, then your “About me” section is incorrect.