Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here.

90125 (1983). A great song from one of my favorite albums of all time.

Here is Kurt Schlichter's latest column.

It is beyond comprehension how the “family values” Republican Party can continue to provide cover for President Donald Trump. His reference to Haiti and African countries is just the most recent in an endless list of nasty, demeaning comments he has made since the beginning of the presidential campaign.

Would these pious Republican senators and congresspersons just look the other way if their child’s scout leader, sports coach or schoolteacher conducted himself in this manner? The Republican Party’s endless tolerance for this never ending egregious behavior is destroying the concept of civil discourse in this country and normalizing mean spiritedness and crude behavior.

Do they really think our nation’s children, who are growing up on this diet of obscene behavior, are not being influenced by it? Is their political agenda really so important to them that they are willing to destroy our country’s self-respect to achieve it? Enough is enough.

Richard Schwartz, Seattle

Note from KBJ: First of all, Trump denies saying it, so Richard Schwartz is in effect calling him a liar. Second, where was Richard Schwartz when Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama were president? Third, where is Richard Schwartz now when actors, comedians, musicians, and actors utter obscenities every minute or so? Oh, wait; they get a pass because Richard Schwartz likes their politics. Richard Schwartz wouldn't know a principle if it hit him in the head.

My beloved but erratic Arizona Wildcats (14-4) are ranked 14th in the latest AP poll.

"Dr. King's dream is our dream. It is the American Dream. It's the promise stitched into the fabric of our Nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind." pic.twitter.com/tyUZGTecDY

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 15, 2018

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All ideologies lend themselves to some particular interest, but it is unrealistic to suppose that they are no more than a discreet camouflage behind which the bearers of those interests can self-deceivingly cover their selfishness. It is certainly not a unique feature of conservatism to answer pre-eminently to a particular interest. If conservatism appeals to those who want to hold on to what they have got, socialism appeals to those who want to deprive them of it by force of law, liberal individualism to those who want to acquire it by unrestricted competition.

It is obviously the case that not all support of ideologies is provided by those whose interests would be conspicuously served by the realization of their ideals or policies. Many with inherited and with earned wealth are socialists. Many more who are without significant property are conservatives. It may be argued that that is because of 'false consciousness', because, in the case of the working-class conservatives, they are deluded about their real interests. It is not clear that the impoverishment of the rich will actually enrich the poor. But, in any case, there is nothing irrational or deluded about having other interests than strictly economic ones.

(Anthony Quinton, "Conservatism," chap. 9 in A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, ed. Robert E. Goodin and Philip Pettit, Blackwell Companions to Philosophy [Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1993], 244-68, at 261)

Note from KBJ: Ours is the Age of Cynicism. It is widely assumed that people's moral and political views are rooted in self-interest. I reject this. I know many principled people. Judges, for example, routinely issue opinions that conflict with their personal views or values. What I find particularly disturbing is philosophers questioning people's motives. It seems to me that in philosophy, of all disciplines, one should assume the best (and certainly not the worst) of one's interlocutor. This means (1) assuming that the interlocutor's motives are pure, (2) charitably interpreting what the interlocutor says, and (3) making the best of the interlocutor's arguments. Philosophy, in other words, should not be cynical.

Here.

Here.

Odds & Sods (1974). I used to own this album on eight-track tape. The other day, I acquired it on compact disc.