Courage, charisma and adaptability allowed her son to mingle smoothly with the white world
My previous column told the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. Kidnapped as a nine-year-old in an 1836 Comanche raid, she was assimilated into the tribe, married a war chief with whom she had three children, and was then ‘rescued’ by Texas Rangers in 1860. She died a decade later, miserable and unwilling to reintegrate into…
Kidnapped by Commanches then rescued, Cynthia Ann Parker was a victim of cultural genocide twice over
Movie enthusiasts invariably sing the praises of John Ford’s The Searchers. Released in 1956 and starring John Wayne, the film has been described as a masterpiece and shows prominently in critical lists of the best films ever made. It’s inspired by a true story. Or maybe that should be stories in the plural. The Searchers…
It may seem prosaic and uninspiring but it does deliver the goods - prosperity and personal liberty
As part of its recent Capitalist Manifesto series, the National Post had several of its columnists identify 10 essential books on the topic. The selections included offerings from Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Deirdre McCloskey and Matt Ridley, all of whom are worth reading. But I was struck by an omission. Published in 1978, Irving Kristol’s…
How something quite ordinary can be transformed by a specific performance
In late 1965, coming to Canada from Ireland had its revelations. My Dublin hometown may have been more architecturally distinguished, but it couldn’t match Toronto’s relative abundance of decently paying jobs. There were also things like diners – which I’d only seen in American movies – and the language esoterica pertaining to “double-double” coffees. Top…But the idea of someone like William Lyon Mackenzie King winning six terms today boggles the mind
This month marks a notable centenary in Canadian political history. On December 6, 1921, William Lyon Mackenzie King won his first federal election and was duly sworn in as prime minister 23 days later. He went on to spend more than 21 years in office over a 27 year span, which makes him the longest-serving…
1920's Ireland is a fascinating study of competing perspectives
December 1921 was a critical turning point in Irish history. The Dec. 6 Anglo-Irish Treaty aimed to end the War of Independence by “establishing the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth.” But it actually did more. It effectively launched the fledgling entity on a glide path toward full independence without…
Given Biden’s age and niggling concerns therein, there’s a non-trivial chance he won’t see full term
Just a year after giving Donald Trump his electoral walking papers, the Democrats are in some degree of disarray in the United States. It’s still early days and things may turn around before the 2024 election, perhaps even in time for the 2022 midterm elections in the U.S. But the Democrats’ jubilant triumph of 2020…
Subtlety wasn’t his style. He was all about aggression and clubbing his opponents into submission
Extending over 14 acres, La Recoleta is a famous cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 2013 CNN travel piece called it one of the world’s 10 most beautiful. Today’s layout dates from the early 19th century and is said to resemble “a city more than a burial ground with its impressive neo-classical gates opening up…
Much of what’s presented as news now is better described as narrative spinning
If you follow American news, you’ve probably come across many assertions that by mid-century the United States is set to become a “majority-minority” country. For the first time since its founding, whites will no longer form a majority of the population. This has been greeted with a range of reactions. Some people are dismayed, or…
An appetite for empirical data and a willingness to challenge received wisdom
Among the activities associated with moving house is the trawl through possessions you haven’t seriously looked at in years. Books are a prime example. In the process, I reacquainted myself with American social scientist Christopher Jencks. Born in 1936, Jencks began his career working at the liberal magazine The New Republic and the left-leaning Institute…