From A Not Angry Reader:
Dear Professor Hanson,
I am not an angry reader. I am an eternally grateful reader who only hopes to see this on your “Dear Angry Reader” page so that I know you read my note.
In your latest podcast you state that Rush Limbaugh is irreplaceable. Perhaps. I don’t know. (I do hope that someone, sometime is able to step up to that mantle and carry on.) What I do know is that your own voice has become my weekly Zen. Your sound, pragmatic and infinite wisdom has, during these increasingly unsettling and scary times, become my verbal Prozac.
As a writer, I have for decades saved hardcopies of my favorite writings for fear that I won’t be able to find them again, and I want a foolproof way to reread and share them. But lately I have started printing out your columns and filing them away out of fear that the Left will somehow succeed in its rabid quest to cancel any and all dissenting voices. I want to make sure I (and someday my children) always have access to yours.
While Rush was certainly one-of-a-kind, I hope you know how essential your own voice is to so many of us and how much comfort your writings and weekly podcasts provide.
I sincerely thank you.
Jennfer L.
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Dear Not Angry Reader Jennifer L.
I wrote about Rush here in a syndicated column: https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/we-have-lost-an-american-genius/
| We Have Lost an American Genius | National Review www.nationalreview.com |
I first talked to him 20 years ago right after 9/11, and then only periodically until about three years ago when we began texting and emailing almost daily. And I visited him when I had occasion to speak in Palm Beach. He was one of the kindest and most earnest people I have met. And he did more for the conservative cause than all of us academics together. His loss is irreplaceable.
Who knows what the Left will do in its censorship jihad?
You are right: it is wise to have hard copies of things we value since they seem to have a tendency to vanish, as books are now treated like tweets or postings that suddenly just disappear.
This Trotskyization reminds me also of the Serra Mall small street outside my office at work: one day it was there, the next it was cancelled and renamed. It was if the current Stanford student body (the student parking lot resembles an Audi/BMW/Lexus/Mercedes car deanship lot) is the moral superior to an impoverished, 18th century Catholic priest who originated the California mission system and sought to introduce agriculture to California and provide comfort and help to travelers.
Note his cancellation was due to his occasional use of corporal punishment to native Americans in age when all, both indigenous and colonialist, were often far more violent. Yet when his record is compared in toto to the morality of the times, he stood above most in his compassion.
Note that Stanford students selectively demanded incorrect street names to be changed, but not “Stanford” itself—funded by a brilliant 19th-century “robber baron” who wrote disparagingly of Chinese, whose labor was critical to Stanford’s railroad projects. That hypocrisy is a morality tale that reveals the Left’s opportunism: cancel the easy, but not the names that lead to career advancement. According to their own progressive logic of judging the past by the present, we would still have Serra Mall street, but they would now graduate from Chumash University.
Thank you for your kind note.
VDH
Discussion (24)
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I am probably wrong, but maybe not Could the doctrine of attractive nuisance be applied to the border problem. Usually this applies to protection of young people but Texas has no age limit Illegal immigrants see the U.S. as the attraction but often die when they come into an unfenced desert area of the U.S. , maybe on federal or state land perhaps on private property. If there was an unfenced swimming poll the owner would be subject to liability if anyone drowned.
Thank you for all the insights and knowledge you have shared with your readers over the years. I have followed you since 9/11 and your beautiful mind has sustained. Again thank you Prof. Hanson
Dear Victor, There are many of us out here who are in total agreement with Jennifer. You and Rush are both National Treasures and neither of you could be replaced. Seriously. God bless and keep you. With the greatest respect, Jon D.
Bless!
Dear Victor, There are so many of us out here who feel exactly like Jennifer. You are without a doubt, just like Rush, a National Treasure. God bleed and keep you. With greatest respect, Jon D.
My husband, my friends and I all admire your search for the truth. You present valid opinions that describe exactly what is going on in our country and our culture. As a Conservative Republican, I can only hope and pray that our Country does not go to full blown Socialism. It seems like that is where we are headed as those who control the government right now are doing everything to pass laws that will suppress our Freedom of Speech and our 2nd Amendment rights. God help us.
I agree completely with with Jennfer L about the importance of hearing the words of VDH. I can see what harm (fear) has come to many people over the last year. Perspective is everything in reducing that fear. I am fortunately at a point in life where I am literally "afraid" of nothing. I am out and about and proactively talk to people daily about exactly what is going on in our country today, and I will simple say this: In life we have words and we have action. A combination of the two is needed for normal interaction. The very small number of malcontents that spew the drivel that leads to all of this crazy rhetoric and false indignation are TALKERS... not doers. All words... no action. When you are fearful, just look around you and ask yourself who (in your daily life) is saying, doing or suggesting these crazy or idiotic things. It comes mostly from the Media, internet trolls and their keyboards. If we could shut down Social Media for 90 days, you would see CALM return to your corner of the World. I recommend that everyone disengage from social media open forums immediately and reconnect with your friends in more direct ways like phone chains, e-mail and known websites.... and continue to read VDH.
I thank Rush Limbaugh for warning us about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Rush stood up for Justice Clarence Thomas. He is missed.
Your Stanford comments are so spot-on (I am a ‘78 graduate)! Cancel culture started early there, with the Indian head football logo, but the “robber baron’s” rise was always only the subject of clever spoofs and gags. Necessarily, since there will be nothing left, the cancelation is arbitrary. Ultimate question: Who chooses the parameters?
Jennifer states beautifully what so many of us believe! You Victor, perhaps better than most because of your speaking opportunities, understand the undeniable goodness of the American people through their acts of kindness, charity and personal courage. Please always remember how important your voice is to us all!
Dear Professor Hanson: I too am not an Angry Reader, but a high school teacher who regularly uses your YouTube presentations, books, and articles in my English classes. Tomorrow I am posting your article in the Providence Journal from September 2, 2017, "My Turn: Victor Davis Hanson: Innocent words (and names) are under attack". We will have just finished reading Act III of Julius Caesar. I wonder if my students will make the same connections you did? I wonder if I will still have a job after bringing up "cancel culture"? An Old English teacher in California
Well stated Jennifer. You speak for many millions of us when it comes to VDH. He is indeed, a treasure. mdee~
Dear Professor Hanson, An orderly, grammatical angry reader message lacking misspelled words, hostility in all capital letters, obscenities and ad hominem slurs has surprisingly become one of my favorites. Your response was, not surprisingly, superb. This happy reader seconds the sincere thank you.
Dr. Hanson: I have been reading military history 60 years, from 11 years old at Patton’s grave to today. No matter the topic you humble me. I keep every article you have written over 29 years. How can I or what books do you suggest for a student who wants to study the Classics. Thank you for your gift to America and Freedom. Paul Posey Louisville, KY
I wrote an essay called Conservatives Are Nicer than Liberals. One of the reasons, among many, that I say this, is that we are kinder about people who die. If RBG dies, whether we agreed with her or not, whether we think she helped or did not help, we recognize that a huge number of Americans mourned for her and we did not insult her in death out of consideration for their feelings and her memory. if Rush dies, Middler insults him and thinks she is so clever and original. And how many public people said filthy things about him. I wrote a family member to say how I am in mourning and instead of respecting that, she insulted Rush to the max. No consideration for my feelings was in order. I agree with this writer's comment. Professor you are ever the gentleman.
Dearest Mr. Hanson, I absolutely adore you and I think you are one of the most wise men around, but you scare me to death sometimes, because the truths you give us hit me like they were straight from the grim reaper. I used to think that the most frightening time to be an American was when you could be scalped by Indians. Now that I'm living through being ruled and controlled by Godless psychos I don't think that any longer. . .R.I.P. AMERICA (1776-2020)
I was hoping Trump would take an hour or so of his programming to keep his supporters informed of what he thinks of what is going on and to explain the difficulties of "draining the swamp" along with suggestions on how to continue to make progress. Of course I have no idea if iHeart Media would be brave enough to put him on, or for that matter, whether he would agree to do it. But my guess is it would have pleased Rush.
Excellent letter. Perfect response, Prof. Hanson. You would never need to "step up" to replace Rush, who we loved. Your writing is more brilliant, more insightful, more analytical than even Rush's. His gift was bringing it to the masses and delivering it in a more conversational style.
I "second" Jennifer L's letter to you! If I had a dollar for every time I have recommended you to friends...yes, I WOULD be wealthy. Keep it up VDH!!
Why did this reader sign her name Jennfer L. and you refer to her as Jennifer L. ? I think “spellcheck” function would have tried to correct her, as it tried to correct me. I’m not trying to be flippant, I’m just curious. I don’t think her concerns are that far-fetched. We now have a form of censored news and there was a time when a book by William Blum titled “Killing Hope” was difficult to obtain. PS. My daughter preordered you forthcoming book “The Dying Citizen” as a gift for me. Jennfer or Jennifer should take comfort in the fact that in my opinion we won’t have government book banning by then. The last remark was also not intentionally flippant, just realistic.
Dear Not So Angry Reader Jennifer, I could not of said it better myself regarding Dr. Hanson. He is a true American treasure and one that brings me comfort as well in these very scary times. His wisdom and powerful Intellect are unmatched among conservative voices.
Couldn't agree more. God Bless you VDH. You are an unflagging and much needed intellectual stanchion in impractical times.
I would like to see someone (perhaps you?) do an analysis of what the Constitution has provisions in it for the illegal voting that happened in the 2020 election. In other words, what can be done to overturn that election according to the Constitution and if it can be done. The fact that the federal courts have unilaterally rejected all of the lawsuits regarding the election is alarming and indicates that the courts have been either totally taken over by the progressives or there is something being held over the judges' heads to compel them to reject the cases. (What doe they have on Justice Roberts?) Another point, how can the facts of the election being illegal be "proved" without the courts? Do all things political have to be proved in courts or is there some other way to get the information out and PROVE it? Thank you for your always well thought out answers and comments on current situations. I enjoy your visits to the Fox News station, and hope that you will begin to be seen on Newsmax and OneAmericaNews as well, since Fox is starting to become more "mainstream"...
Ditto to what "angry reader" said. You are most definitey my "ZEN" also! I am a history loving grandmother who sees an upside down world with constantly moving goalposts to solutions and an extremely worrisome overuse of euphemisms I listen to your podcasts when I walk. And I, too, have saved all of your posts...perhaps I'll print them out -for safety's sake. Please keep writing and doing podcasts . Your wisdom is much appreciated.