Society and Culture: Commentary by Dr. Frank Kaufmann

4 days ago | frankkaufmann.substack.com | Frank Kaufmann

by David EatonThe biblical passage (John 8:32) about truth’s liberating power has gained new relevance amid Western culture wars. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary named "post-truth" the word of the year. Postmodernists argue there are no objective truths, only interpretations, a view rooted in Nietzsche and Sartre. Sartre, influenced by Marxism, claimed no one can be judged except by their own moral choices, legitimizing personal morality.

1 week ago | frankkaufmann.substack.com | Frank Kaufmann

by Frank PerleyThis article was first published in The Stream. Something there is that doesn’t love a wall. More than a hundred years ago, Robert Frost penned these words in his oft-quoted poem “Mending Wall” to express a subtle, simmering vexation with the practice of building barriers that keep people apart.

2 weeks ago | frankkaufmann.substack.com | Frank Kaufmann

article by Frank PerleyProgress advances not with energy privation but from prosperity, including when funded by fracking. Progress advances not with energy privation, but prosperity funded by fracking. Clean energy is the future. Bringing the new era closer to realization shaped the theme for the recently observed Earth Day, "Our power, our planet." While the magnitude of the new "green" power can hardly be understated, the monumental contributions of inky fossil fuels mustn’t be forgotten.

2 weeks ago | frankkaufmann.substack.com | Frank Kaufmann

Learning the difference between right and wrong is as fundamental a skill as any that civilization requires. Mistakes are inevitable along the path of life, of course, but with experience comes the ability to make better choices. In America circa 2025, however, failure to win at the ballot box is driving “progressives” so deep into frustration that they are not hesitating to crash through the walls of civilized behavior.

2 weeks ago | frankkaufmann.substack.com | Frank Kaufmann

by David Eaton“Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearers as well as those of the speaker.”In the current debates regarding free speech and democracy, this observation by Fredrick Douglass has great credence. Douglass’ statement echoes the assertions of John Stuart Mill. In his philosophical tome, On Liberty, Mill stated that “silencing the expression of opinion,” was “robbing the human race” of the ability to dissent.