Wolfgang von Skeptik

AN INTERLUDE FOR THOUGHTFUL WRITING

I AM NOT POSTING anything other than one quick vital link today because I am in the midst of the essay about liberalism – its death and possible resurrection in new form – I promised more than a week ago. I began work on its week-old rough draft yesterday evening and discovered about midnight I had undertaken a much greater project than I realized: the work I had been doing for a local publication had spilled over into this matter and was now impelling it in new directions, with the result the one-page draft quickly became five pages of Times Roman type. It is now nearly finished, but there remain some facts to be verified, and perhaps three concluding paragraphs to be written. Then possibly because of its length I will divide it into two parts, one to run Tuesday, the next Wednesday...or perhaps – because I am my own most demanding editor – it will take until Wednesday (or even Thursday) before I am satisfied with the results.

In the meantime I would share someone else's work – a very relevant essay, given its premise: the belief (which I hold in common with the Asia Times columnist who goes by the name of Spengler) that the increasing violence of Islam heralds a global war of unprecedented dimensions, a matter that just happens to be central to the question of what will replace liberalism as the social conscience of America. Spengler is discussing why Islam cannot be reformed – why the global clash is unavoidable – a must-read available here. I hope you find this Spengler piece as thought-provoking as I did.