What are the biggest threats to democracy in Western nations today?

My answer in Quora.

Here are ten (not in any order)

1. Corruption of Key Institutions by ideologues
2. Two-tiered policing
3. Cancel Culture/Rampant Restrictions on Freedom of Speech
4. A media Industrial complex beholden to the power elites that spin stories around specific narratives
5. Election Fraud
6. Falling standards in public education
7. Equality of Outcome superseding Equality of Opportunity
8. Lax border laws leading to uncontrolled illegal immigration
9. Politically motivated District Attorneys
10. An overly regulated economy.

A Reading List of Jewish Books that I have read with my Rankings

 Judaism (B and above are all worth reading in my opinion)

1. Traces of God – Neil Gillman (B-)
2. Permission to Believe – Keleman (B+)
3. Why Faith Matters – Wolpe (B)
4. Soul Prints – Gafni (B)
5. God is a verb – Cooper (B+)
6. DNA & Tradition – Kleiman (B+)
7. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – Waldman (C+)
8. Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism – Prager/Telushkin (A)
9. Fingerprints on the Universe – Pollack (B+)
10. I Asked for Wonder – Heschel (A-)
11. The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology – Kaplan (A-)
12. Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe – Kaplan (B+)
13. The Path of G-d – Luzzato (A-)
14. Endless Light Kabbalah – Aaron (B+)
15. Inviting God In – Aaron (B)
16. Discovering the Divine Within You – Aaron (A)
17. Kabbalah Inspirations – Rosen (B+)
18. Life’s Daily Blessings – Olitzky (B+)
19. More Answers to Questions of the Spirit – Bulka (B+)
20. The Hidden Face in God – Schroeder (B)
21. Ten Commandments of Character – Telushkin (B+)
22. Everyday Holiness (Path of Mussar) – Morinis  (B-)
23. John Lennon and the Jews  - Maghen (B+)
24. The God Upgrade – Korngold (B-)
25. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – Morinis (B-)
26. Seeing God: Ten Life Changing Lessons of the Kabbalah – Aaron (A)
27. Finding God : Ten Jewish Responses – Sonsino & Syme (A-)
28. Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism – Telushkin & Prager (A)
29. Genesis and the Big Bang – Schroeder (B)
30. We Have Reason to Believe  - Jacobs (B+)

On Empathy

I was once involvedin an online discussion on empathy. One of the participants, who is a teacher like myself, argued that one need not understand another's circumstances only their emotions. It is this understanding of emotion, in his opinion, that is ultimately what defines empathy and what will eventually assist the teacher in reaching at-risk learners. While his raw words have an obvious appeal I couldn't help but wonder if the burden that this places on a teacher is too excessive.

Understanding emotions is complex at the best of times and is rarely dealt with in pedagogic literature. Yes, psychology and to some extent sociology broach on these themes but as a teacher I am not sure whether I am equipped to even enter such a realm which seems more the preserve of a social worker than anything else.

Yet in self-reflecting on this point, I started to wonder if I was not making excuses for my own shortcomings. Was I too afraid to venture into this area? Or when it comes down to it, have I limited my own sense of self?

Is this emotional aspect of empathy something we are born with or is it a learned action cultivated by internalized behaviourism? My belief is that it is somehow a mixture of both. There are some who have the potential to emotionally deliver 'more' (or at least what appears to be more) whilst others fall short of the mark. This quality of the former is certainly a valuable tool as so much of teaching is about the human element. Either way I believe that a portion of the skill can be learnt systematically. Maybe this is the route that I need to take.

I am however not sold on the idea that emotional understanding is the sole basis of empathy. I fear that a wholesale capitualtion to this philosophy will detract from the rationality of teaching so what I seek is a better understanding of what empathy truly is ie. its full conglomerate of aspects.

In practice I will continue to choose to extend my sense of self on a conscious level . I will teach with the expectation that my students need to understand. While I believe in the excitement of learning and the joy of transferred insight I will resist the temptation to drown myself in emotional based education. Based on experience this is the most reasonable pathway for me to take. It could change over time as I learn more about the 'Emotional Empathy Factor' but like any new adaptation to a philosophy is best implemented with thoughtful caution.

From the Archives II - The Failed Obama Nuclear Deal.

 It was a bad idea then and thankfully it has failed. I wrote the following ten points at the time of its proposal.

10 Reasons why the Iranian Nuclear Deal is Awful

1. It leaves Iran’s centrifuge refining structure in place
2. It does nothing to remove Uranium stockpiles in Iran
3. In 10-15 years Iran will be free to do as they please on a Nuclear Level.
4. Has no way to control illicit underground nuclear refinement processes.
5. Lifts Sanctions for promises that can be easily broken. Will result in a large inflow of capital that will embolden Iran as a power player and meddler in the region.
6. Does not put pressure on Iran over her funding of terrorist groups in Lebanon (Hezbollah), Gaza (Hamas), Yemen as well as its complicity in Syria’s genocide regime.
7. Does not pressure Iran with respect to the treatment of women, gays the Bahais and other minorities.
8. Will encourage Sunni regimes to develop nuclear infrastructure
9. Does not address the belligerency of language and deed that Iran uses against Israel
10. It fails to address Iran’s development of long range ICBM development


And Most of all it does nothing to help the mainstream DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT in this once proud nation.

.

From the Archives I - Death of Hugo Chavez

 I wrote this March 2013. Unfortunately Venezuela is still a country in bad shape. Maduro is not an improvement on Chavez who was terrible.

One shouldn't celebrate the death of another human being but I for one shall not shed a tear for this passing of this South American demagogue. Chavez destroyed his country's economy, cavorted with the vile Iranian leadership, committed himself to a philosophy of anti-Semitism and greatly curtailed freedom of speech in Venezuela. While admired by many on the left (the usual voices who continue to show affection for Mao, Castro and Che) Chavez represented a regional menace who used simplistic populism to boost his status with the poorest of the nation while championing a statism that has ruined many an economy elsewhere. He should not be missed but I am not optimistic that his successor will curb the folly's of Chavez's realized egoism. We will wait and see.

Reflections XIII - Further notes from the Sanity Divide

Numbers matter most to education bureaucrats. This is why they are not afraid to drop the standards to the lowest level possible so that even the weakest can scale the minimum bar.

 The substitution of race for class was the greatest sleight of hand orchestrated the radical left. In this way they reduced themselves from an earlier failed collectivist policy while convincing the people that they had changed their ways. The lie was baked in.

 It is really disturbing when one realizes how deceit has been such a powerful tool in human evolutionary survival.

 Intelligence isn’t always a guide for good judgement for an intelligent person can just as easily rationalize bad ideas than their far better alternatives.

When societies are in decline there will be a proliferation of bad ideas. One already sees this on both the right and the left.

 What modern globalism shares with International socialism and the various Marxist spinoffs is a vaunted and misshapen belief in its own moral superiority that requires no criticism.

Personal Area of Interest II - French History

French History

Like British history I developed an interest in the French variety from a young age. A great deal of my early passionwas motivated by the reality that much of French history is entangled with her rival across the Channel. This is especially true of the Middle Ages with both the early Norman and Plantagenet dynasties overlapping with Gallic ambitions on the continent.

Areas of Primary focus: The French Revolution, Napoleon, the post Bonaparte Era, the French Empire and the Third Republic

Areas of Secondary Focus:  Charlemagne and the Carolingians and the Reign of Louis XIV.

What I feel I need to know more about: The Valois Kings, France between the World Wars

These are the Eleven Period that I divide French history into:

1.       The Gaulish struggles versus Rome

2.       The Frank Invasion and the Merovingians

3.       Charlemagne and the Carolingians

4.       The Capetian dynasty and the Crusades

5.        The Hundred Years War and the Rise of the House of Valois

6.       Religious struggles in France

7.       The Rise of the House of Bourbon – Louis XIV

8.       The French Revolution and the Bonaparte Era

9.       Turbulence in the 19^th century. The Second Empire and the Third Republic.

10.   France and the World Wars.

11.   The Decline of France and the challenges of the 5^th Republic in the post-Colonial era