Thomas Sebacher
Bio
A writer and editorialist from Missouri writing about history, philosophy, and politics. I provide leftist views and social commentaries upon a variety of topics.
Stories (19/0)
Media Markets and Marketing Games
The first instinct of both parties in the United States is to blame the other for the political problems of the present. Any political debate between them seems to descend into a game of creative name calling that has little purpose and even less potential for achieving real dialogue. It is always taken for granted that these two sides are lightyears apart.
By Thomas Sebacher2 years ago in The Swamp
“The Individual Disorder” of Descartes, Truth, and Mental Health in Politics
Insane. Crazy. Mad. Deranged. Defective. Lunatic. Violent. Dangerous. At times, society attributed all these descriptions to those many now the mentally ill. Even that phrase has its discontents; it implies disorder, deviance, incorrectness to the mind of the person who is considered “mad” or “insane.” If my use of those words bother anyone, it is advisable not to read the rest of this article. I must apologize for my crassness regardless, for I used those words quite brashly, and in many ways, ironically. I am, of course, discussing this social concept of madness that has been, not taboo, but extensively spoken about; if we wish to discuss it, we have to come to terms with the fact that it is not suppressed. Ironically, we find that philosophers have constantly and commonly addressed the insane in a variety of ways, and that the public constantly engages in speculation on it. The silence was never put in place; madness (to use the explicitly outdated term), rather than being silenced, has been spoken of throughout human history.
By Thomas Sebacher2 years ago in Psyche
A Bleak and Troubling Outlook
Where are we going? This question has been asked repeatedly for endless centuries, eons, millennia. As a historian, I have analyzed repeatedly the outcomes of several societies, as they spiral towards different events, different futures, but what I realize is forever the same. We are headed towards disaster. There is no questioning that there is currently a form of fascism in the world, a new totalitarianism springing up everywhere, in democracies and autocracies, in flailing political systems unqualified and poorly designed to fulfill the needs of the people. I have researched Latin America to find that repeatedly, societies which totter on the knife's edge, will collapse. We have been doing so for a decade. We have seen increasing political and economic discontent since the 2008 recession. We face another recession in the near future. We are in fact overdue for another major economic downturn. While observing the economy, this month has been one of the most turbulent ones since the collapse, and yet economists voice no concerns that the instability of the stock market could be a bad sign.
By Thomas Sebacher5 years ago in The Swamp
Grave
Thunder rings in the distance, a low rumbling sound. I stand amidst the buildings of a small town, the inhabitants laying now in their beds, oblivious to their peril. The storm is coming, the dawn breaks upon a new day, but the light of the sun shines here no longer—the storm robs them of its rays. The neon lights of the diner illuminate much of this small town, and the rain falls heavily upon the pavement of the road through the small hamlet.
By Thomas Sebacher5 years ago in Horror
Horror of Lovecraft
To begin any discussion of H. P. Lovecraft, one must begin with an analysis of the times in which he lived, the times where science seemed to explain everything, when human knowledge was expanding at the greatest rate that it possibly could. Paradoxically, there are many parallels between the time of H. P. Lovecraft and our own modern times. While it is important to understand that the times back then were filled with great scientific promise, it is also important to understand the scientific backdrop to which he writes. Most important to the writing and understanding of H. P. Lovecraft's fiction is the eugenics movement, as his disdain for people of "lesser races" becomes rather apparent in short stories such as The Street, and make an appearance in his novella, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, an allegory in itself warning against racial mixture. It is possible to separate his writing from this eugenics movement, but it is impractical.
By Thomas Sebacher6 years ago in Horror
What Is "The Left"
"The Left." We hear it constantly from conservative pundits and editorialists, most often trying to get rise from the democratic party. I find that nobody on the right actually knows that that means. To those who believe they know what it means on the right, you probably have little conception of what socialism actually is, much less the broad term "the left." While the Democratic Party is the most leftist major party in the United States, it is not by any means a portion of "the left," although some moderate leftists are in the party. The broad definition of "the left" as perpetuated by conservatives is an authoritarian system and the soviet-form socialism that resulted in another imperialist state. While people think that socialism is inherently authoritarian, it is not. Socialism, as a principle merely refers to the absence of private property (i.e. property used by an employer's employee for use for the purpose of profit). It states that the employment of such a system will result in mass unemployment, mass poverty, hunger, mass homelessness, and overproduction.
By Thomas Sebacher6 years ago in The Swamp
A New World Order
The New World Order is one which shall replace the old liberal order, seeking to guarantee stability and order rather than liberty or freedom or equality. The first and most pressing concern of the New World Order is the dismemberment and destruction of liberal organizations, including the United Nations, European Union, and other groups such as NATO, or market trade organizations that tie countries together. As the European Union is on the verge of collapse and without power over its member states of Italy, Hungary, and Poland, the liberal organization must collapse. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of NATO and Republicans have introduced bills in committee that would have us leave the United Nations, as we have left the UN Human Rights Council. Once considered a country fully dedicated to the establishment and maintenance of the liberal political order, the United States is abolishing the institutions that were created to benefit itself and its allies, creating major contradictions in the American narrative. Second, there are three conflicting views of world organizations, left, right, and center. The center holds that international neoliberal organizations are an ultimately beneficial development, while leftists point out that they only benefit certain people and the right states that it would be better had they never existed, as they increase our dependence upon others. This disunity of interpretations causes an increasing disunity to society.
By Thomas Sebacher6 years ago in The Swamp
Antifa and Increasing Political Violence
While people believe that anti-fascism is a reflection of fascism, the beginnings of fascism are surprisingly simple. The problem of fascism is that authoritarian nationalism is difficult to fight. People believe they are parts of nations and kill others to make those nations realities—this is evident in authoritarian states that use nationalism to keep power. Germany attempted to annihilate the Jewish, Israel is attempting to exterminate Palestinians, and Hungary, Poland, and Italy are currently proposing social cleansing on the scale of the Holocaust. We are on the knife-edge, and the world is about to plunge off the cliff towards fascism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism. The problem of national security is now mentioned every day on the television. While this is concerning, those who we are securing ourselves from are fleeing violence. Those seeking asylum, those entering through refugee programs, are human beings fleeing situations which seem impossible to escape. They are fleeing atrocities committed by countries we have interfered with. For instance, people fleeing Central America and South America are fleeing governments whose affairs we constantly interfere with, rigging elections, embargoing countries, etc. Our tampering opens the way for fascism.
By Thomas Sebacher6 years ago in The Swamp