Lots of projects. They're getting done. Will they be completed?

Hi all –

The students who comprise Odessa College's Sigma Kappa Delta, Psi Alpha chapter have done exceptional work and deserve commendation. This summer, OC has orientation sessions scheduled. Asked to put together a table for the first one, they went above and beyond. They thoroughly planned together. They showed up during the summer to greet new students. They had trail mix to give away, as well as swag like blue stress balls and books of sticky notes. One of them created a beautiful handout for prospective members which I'll post here:

So yeah. I'm super proud. I know those they reached saw their energy. This is exceptional effort and I know their passion inspires this school and this community. They are eager to build something which lasts.

What should I be doing?

Thought I'd update you on the projects I'm working on. I've got notebooks filled with scribbles I barely understand, bookmarks on pages I vaguely remember. I'm sure dust is collecting on at least one book. I can definitely go a few days, even a week or two, without applying myself to these projects. What helps is that they all interconnect. You can't really read about Spinoza dismissing myth and Heidegger desiring a basis for new gods and not see that dialogue play out in manifold ways. Here's what I'm up to:

• Heidegger and Antigone. 4 secondary sources thoroughly read, many others consulted; still some work to do on the primary source, Heidegger's "Ister" lecture on Antigone. "The Ister" is a poem about the Danube; Heidegger ties it to Sophocles' tragedy (long story). To keep these remarks short, I'll say a philosophy about politics is at play: just as a river births a civilization, poets grow the language in various ways. People make that poetry theirs; an attunement to nature and the lives around them results. Or they don't–they may believe in strictly defined principles or technological superiority underlying society, denying their inheritance. The rough idea from Heraclitus, "you can't step into the same river twice," points to how the experiences of a people can evolve without a strict definition of being. Heidegger's vision makes a certain sense when I put it this way. It is still tricky to explain exactly how it relates to political life at present.
• I have a comprehensive set of notes on Spinoza's Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect. I have to turn those notes into something: maybe an essay introducing it, maybe a mini-monograph. I do need to consult secondary sources; one on Spinoza responding to Descartes is promising. It is impressive how deeply Spinoza believes in the primacy of the individual. The Cartesian "I think, therefore I am" feels like a challenge to him.
• I began notes on Witold Gombrowicz's A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes. This is a really charming book written by a huge fan of philosophy. He tries to do every system he speaks of justice and puts them into conversation. He goes further: as someone who experienced Soviet imperialism, philosophy has real, practical consequences of which he demonstrates acute awareness. Generosity about ideas does not translate into treating every single one as harmless.
• A paper on Nietzsche and rights is outstanding and needs to be completed. I have secondary sources to review; my own argument is solid enough, though.
• A paper on Plato and democracy for an edited volume. Barely started this, but identified a few sources worth elaborating and commenting on.
• I have some notes for a book length project, too.

Someone might ask what I'm doing with political philosophy. I think you can see the outline from this list. The overarching question as I see it at the moment concerns philosophy, individual freedom, and what we believe politics is. The tendency of our age is to say none of these things go together. I live in an area which depends on Medicaid–1 billion dollars of Medicaid money comes here–and some people from here cheer on Facebook that it is being cut. Where is the sense that politics affects their lives? Where is an attempt at reasoning about values? Freedom as "you can't make me care" is peculiar; "We the People" who are pledged to "promote the general welfare" has collapsed. You see this collapse in the thinking of academics, experts, and politicians too. You've got experts who think kids should only have workforce training and not be asked to read anything. We've got academics who are purposely inattentive to how power actually works.

For me, thinking about Antigone is reflection on what is worth sacrificing for. Spinoza exploring clarity of mind goes beyond self-help; he wants to redefine what we mean by the intellect itself. Gombrowicz makes the past speak so he can hear the future. Nietzsche worries that extreme shallowness will make us all too much the same. Plato panics that mob justice can kill what you hold dearest. Whatever politics is, it impacts the individual, it shapes the world the individual is in. You can't self-help your way through it without making a strong statement about what it is. And when you make that statement, you've articulated something you'll fight for. It all sounds so simple, like I'm explaining the most basic thing. We've got a government, though, which does not understand in the least that it is supposed to serve the people. I don't think we got there because there was too much interest in political science or political philosophy, but rather because we succumbed to cranks with megaphones.

On the Texas Floods

Marisa Kabas has two must-reads about the flooding in Texas. Both will outrage you: "FEMA response to deadly Texas floods delayed & deficient with Noem in charge" & "Have you seen this man?" Since Noem has to "personally approve" any "contract and grant over $100,000," the recovery effort is being sabotaged by the government charged with providing it. Of course, Noem has said on the record that she does not believe FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, should really take the lead with helping. From Forbes:

"A disaster on the scale of the Texas floods, the death toll for which had risen to at least 120 as of Thursday, would have traditionally triggered a faster and bigger response, sources told the Times, but Noem has consistently pushed for states to take control of their own disaster response with FEMA playing only a supporting role."

But I want to talk a bit about David Richardson, the man directly in charge of FEMA. According to Kabas, he has bragged that he never read a book on leadership. He did not know about hurricane season and was surprised Texas is bigger than Spain. This is not an individual with any degree of competence; he's a flunky with an enormously powerful leadership position. Of course, he has barely addressed the Texas floods and people who know things about FEMA are appalled by how little he has done.

The question I've got is how the hell someone like this gets any power at all. I hear you already. If you go around for years saying that politics is nothing but corruption, that groups just want specific politicians to win so they can loot the Treasury, then sure. Someone like Richardson who seems to have been actively ignoring a response to the deadly floods makes sense. But I don't buy this entirely because there's a difference between people being cynical and outrageous levels of corruption. To go further, we can conceive even a tyrannical government not wanting to fail at disaster relief for the most basic reasons. Not that they care about their people, but they don't want a revolution!

My own thesis is that American exceptionalism has eroded so many things, including what we believe leadership is. Our leaders think that it really is slogans about individualism or states' rights. That people get hurt because of the neglect those slogans engender isn't always visible to them, and when it is, they dismiss it. Bad things can't happen in America! We're #1! Moreover, if we elect people who can't do the job, we didn't make a mistake with any consequences. After all, we're #1! It'll all work itself out. It isn't like children are going hungry or there are mass viral outbreaks or we may be in danger of not having doctors anymore.

If we're going to make any progress, we need to get rid of American exceptionalism. What we hold to be true about others applies to us, too. It's the only way we're going to see problems. It's the only defense against administrators who would suffer prosecution for their incompetence in any other country. As it stands, we can't get people to recognize this isn't leadership.

N.B. This, about the flooding deaths at Camp Mystic itself, is highly recommended. You will cry.