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Most countercultural of all: the Amish

Life in the United States has changed drastically in the last several decades. Technology, pharmaceutical and medical interventions, dietary shifts, educational policies, and social trends have radically altered our way of life. Over the same time period, Americans have become fatter, sicker, and less happy. Chronic disease has skyrocketed, and our children suffer ill health at unprecedented levels. Yet there is one group that has not experienced many of these same changes: The Amish and other Plain Sect churches. By opting out of a host of our modern social ills, they have avoided many of the negative outcomes impacting the rest of America, particularly our children. When I speak of the Amish, I am primarily referring to the Older Order Amish but much applies to Old Order Mennonites and other plain sect communities as well. The Amish entered the American Experiment in the Colonial era after fleeing violent religious persecution in Europe. Their community customs are dictated by the Ordnung, a set of church rules designed to encourage a simple, modest life, prevent social decay, and bind the community together. Members are pacifists who eschew cars for horses and buggies and reject current fashions for modest homemade dresses and bonnets or black pants, shirts, and hats. They forgo screen-based entertainment of all kinds.

Tracy Thurman

September 25, 2024

This assisted suicide machine is not a joke

Although she discourages it, crowds at Kamala Harris's rallies chant: “Lock him up. Lock him up.” Crowds at Trump’s rallies had the same chant for Hillary Clinton. I wish the media and the police had a similar fervour about locking up Philip Nitschke, the world’s best-known assisted suicide activist. Dr Nitschke is an Australian doctor and physicist who has dedicated his life to promoting “rational suicide”. The most recent casualty of his obsession is an unnamed 64-year-old woman from the American mid-West. She became the first person to use Sarco, the latest of his suicide inventions, to kill herself in Switzerland. Nitschke’s organisation explained that she "had been suffering for many years from a number of serious problems associated with severe immune compromise." Was the pain which drove her to suicide physical or mental? We don’t know. Sarco is a sleek airtight pod. The client – or is he or she a patient? or a suicidee? or a victim? – gets comfy inside. The lid is closed. The client pushes a button and the capsule fills with nitrogen gas. The client goes to sleep and never wakes up. The lid is transparent and the base is elevated and tilted, so the patient can take a last look at the world. Afterwards, the pod can also be used as a coffin – a seamless transition from smelling the roses to pushing up daisies.

Michael Cook

September 27, 2024

Italy’s eloquent PM defends Western values

Below are excerpts from a speech made by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier this week in New York City when she received a Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council. In presenting the award, Elon Musk said that Meloni has done an “incredible job” as prime minister: “She’s authentic, honest, truthful — and that cannot always be said about politicians.” Not only that – she’s smarter. Would Kamala Harris or Donald Trump defend Western values so eloquently? * * * * * * * * As a politician, you basically have two options: being a leader or a follower, to point a course or not, to act for the good of your people, or to act only driven by polls. Well, my ambition is to lead, and not to follow … Let me start by mentioning an op-ed recently published in the European edition of Politico. This analysis was focused on “Meloni's Western nationalism”. The author, who is called Dr. Constantini, argues that my political belief is “in what might be called ‘Western nationalism.’” A thought which, at its heart, embodies the survival and Renaissance of Western civilization, which, according to Constantini, is “new to the European scene.” I do not know if nationalism is the correct word, because it often recalls doctrines of aggression or authoritarianism. However, I know that we should not be ashamed to use and defend words and concepts like Nation and Patriotism, because they mean more than a physical place; they mean a state of mind to which one belongs in sharing culture, traditions, and values. When we see our flag, if we feel proud, it means that we feel pride in being part of a community, and that we are ready to do our part to make its fate better.

Giorgia Meloni

September 26, 2024

New hate speech laws scrapped in Ireland

The Irish Government has announced it is scrapping its plans to introduce significant updates to Ireland’s existing hate speech laws, as there is not enough support for the proposed legislation. Remarkably, the legislation had already passed the lower house of the Irish Parliament by an overwhelming margin (114 in favour, 10 against) in April 2023, but began to stall in the Senate as its more problematic features came to light. It had gained international notoriety when it came under fire from X’s CEO, Elon Musk. Free speech advocates across the world should find solace in the fact that a regressive piece of legislation with dire implications for free speech, is now dead in the water, in spite of being a “sure thing” less than two years ago. This is a piece of legislation, after all, that had already comfortably passed in the lower house of parliament, was supported by all major political parties, and was initially only resisted by a handful of journalists, politicians, and political activists. The Irish government had staked their reputation on the passage of this hate speech law, so they would not have withdrawn it at the last minute, unless they had come under intense political pressure.

David Thunder

September 26, 2024

Australia’s Labor government has turned its back on people of faith again

On September 19 the innocuously titled Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2024 passed in federal Parliament. This measure was sold as a way to fight sexual harassment. It will keep federal courts from ordering victims to pay their opponent's legal fees if they lose. It was argued that fear of being burdened by legal costs keeps many victims of workplace harassment from lodging complaints. "The lack of certainty around costs means that, even when they win, there is no guarantee a victim-survivor's costs will be covered," said ACTU president Michele O’Neil. "By removing this barrier, low-income and vulnerable workers will be empowered to seek justice for encountering workplace sexual harassment." But the Costs Protection Bill is not innocuous. It could have serious consequences for religious institutions. It is not about minor procedural adjustments. It will inevitably lead to vexatious complaints.

Michelle Pearse

September 26, 2024

Desperate people in Myanmar are selling their organs

The economic crisis caused by Myanmar's civil war is a humanitarian catastrophe, fuelling hunger, desperation – and the sale of human organs. Since the 2021 military coup, the Burmese economy and currency have collapsed. The Myanmar kyat has become nearly worthless. Before the coup, the official exchange rate was 1,333 kyat to the USD; it now stands at 2,020. However, on the black market, dollars are going for about 7,000 kyat. The country's GDP has shrunk to roughly 88 percent of its 2019 size and is projected to grow by only 1 percent this year. Inflation has surged to 20 percent in 2024, with food prices tripling as government price controls worsen already severe food shortages. Essential goods are scarce due to a 20 percent drop in imports. Exacerbating the shortages are disruptions in distribution, as internal shipping faces difficulties and the labour market has been impacted by military conscription and ongoing conflict. Electricity shortages have curtailed manufacturing, leading to widespread job losses and a decline in real incomes. As a result, 32 percent of the population now lives in poverty and over 18 million people require humanitarian aid. Exports have fallen by 13 percent and foreign investment, which was around $2 billion in 2020, dropped to just $154 million in the first four months of this year. In addition to these grim economic indicators, unemployment has skyrocketed, with millions losing their jobs, deepening widespread poverty. Economic despair, the ongoing war, and the government's forced military conscription have triggered a significant brain drain, as large numbers of young people flee the country. An estimated 2.7 million people are internally displaced, while another 2 to 3 million are believed to have fled Myanmar altogether. Drug production and human trafficking have surged. But the most horrifying outcome of the economic collapse is the dramatic rise in human organ sales.

Antonio Graceffo

September 26, 2024

Ireland has been transformed – but not for the better

The Revelation of Ireland 1995-2020 by Diarmaid Ferriter | Profile | 2024, 560 pages Professor Diarmaid Ferriter is as well-known in Ireland for his frequent appearances on the state broadcaster RTÉ as he is for his many history books. The front cover of his newly-released book, The Revelation of Ireland 1995-2020, displays a blurb from Prospectproclaiming the University College Dublin Professor of Modern Irish History to be “[t]he outstanding Irish historian of our time.” At times, it appears that some RTÉ producers mistakenly believe he is the only Irish historian of our time. That being said, Ferriter’s overview of recent developments in modern Ireland makes for valuable reading for anyone interested in the economic, political and social transformation of Ireland since the 1990s.