Remember a little while back when George Zimmerman killed Travyon Martin (either in self defense or out of racism, depending on who you talk to)? Of course you do. You almost certainly also know that Zimmerman was recently acquitted. This is not the only trial you probably know something about. You might also know something about the Amanda Knox trial, the Drew Peterson trial, the Casey Anthony trial, the Ariel Castro trial, the OJ Simpson trial, the Michael Jackson trial, all of the various mass shooters and their trials, any number of criminal trials in recent years that the media has attached itself to and reported the proceedings of on a day to day basis. My contention today is that you shouldn’t know about these trials. None of us should. Because they don’t matter.
Author: Benjamin Studebaker
The Firing Squad Case
Today I’d like to evaluate the firing squad case, a hypothetical scenario used in moral philosophy in an attempt to demonstrate that individuals are morally obliged not to participate in collectively harmful activities. A collectively harmful activity is an activity that is harmful, but is only in aggregate. For instance, driving your car is not individually harmful, but it is collectively harmful–while your emissions will make no difference at all to the future climate of the planet, the emissions of everyone together will make a difference. Let’s have a look at the case.
Democracy’s Origin Story
I have some new thoughts today concerning where the modern emphasis on democracy comes from. Why have so many states decided to become democracies, and why do so many people consider all alternative governments unsuitable? There’s no news story to link you to, no current events connection, this post is just from my mind to yours, dear reader. So let’s get started.
Pathological British Ignorance
A new survey for the Royal Statistical Society reveals tremendous public ignorance in the United Kingdom about basic political facts. These facts are not matters of mere political trivia (i.e. “who is the current home secretary?”). They are facts the ignorance of which actively misleads British citizens into holding harmful political views, electing harmful governments, and contributing to one another’s mutual malaise.
The Return of Rick Perry
Texas governor Rick Perry has decided not to run for another term as governor, and that has many on the right excited about a possible 2016 presidential campaign. Perry is thought to be a good primary candidate due to his social conservatism (he has recently called a special session of the Texas legislature in an attempt to once again pass the anti-abortion legislation filibustered so recently by Wendy Davis). He is still thought to make a good general election candidate due to his state’s comparative economic performance. Texas has posted unusually low unemployment numbers relative to the rest of the country during his stint as governor. So today I’d like to consider the question of whether or not Rick Perry makes a suitable republican candidate for US president.
Benjamin Studebaker 