Academia

Discussing Dvorak, a friend (Scotus) googled and sent me this link. And it brought to mind the importance of ritual and traditions to all of us, to the closure of a funeral, and, especially, the need in a warrior culture. A member of the Sunday school class I�ve been attending died a few months ago and the members seemed quite sad he wished for no funeral, no memorial service. The services are for the bereaved rather than the person laying in state at the front, not just for the intimately bereaved but the community as well.

Tradition is important here. A new apartment complex is called �Traditions, the Dorm.� This obsession is also a bit incongruous when applied to ads for homes in an upscale development on the �Traditions� golf course, mixing nostalgia for old army with Rotary Club boosterism.

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Daniel Drezner is denied tenure. He discusses it by quoting Adam Smith and giving an address for Kashmiri relief. Of course, I have no sense of whether the decision was just or not, but I will observe that he has chosen a pretty class way to deal with it; of course, someone with a book accepted at Princeton should land on his feet.