I often hear that it’s a moral imperative to learn from the great 20th century atrocities, that these events are a window into what humans are capable of, and we must find those impulses in ourselves to make sure we do not follow in their footsteps.| www.benlandautaylor.com
In A Study of History, Arnold Toynbee the Younger says that every big religion or ideology starts as esoteric mysticism with profound, transformative insight that’s understood only by a handful, which gives its followers immense spiritual power. The ones that get huge do it by dumbing down the core insight into something accessible to the masses, who lack the early adopters’ rare intellect and intense devotion, so the mass version also lacks the initial core of genuine insight.| www.benlandautaylor.com
I wasn’t the first person in my family to run off to San Francisco to join a movement of fringe countercultural weirdos that later somehow found itself at the vanguard of American elite culture.| www.benlandautaylor.com
Not long ago, during a discussion with a Zoomer colleague about how to find research material, I realized that he had never experienced internet search back when it was good.| www.benlandautaylor.com