A Few Rude and Not So Rude Reflections on America

By Brad aka "Bard", aka "B-rad" Birzer

Some observations, rude and otherwise, from two weeks of traveling across the United States.

I’m at the end of seven weeks of intense traveling. Frankly, I’m tired and more than a bit cranky. But, of course, I brought the travel on myself entirely. For what it’s worth, here are a few observations from my adventures—focused on the events of the last two weeks.

If I ever found myself in a crisis, I would much rather stand next to a member of the Tea Party than to a member of Occupy Whatever.

Tea Party people I met in New Mexico have worked for their money and have pride in themselves and those around them. They love their families and their country—not necessarily for what it is, but for it could be.

Occupy Whatever people I encountered in an unnamed east coast state, have no pride in anything, including the vast sums of money their parents have given them, allowing them to spend time protesting and in their REI tents. They are a frightful, undisciplined army of spoiled brats. 

American Airlines is so much nicer than Delta.

Carey Roberts is one of the finest lecturers I've ever seen [and for those of you who know me, you know what a terrible, no-good, nasty snob I am about such things]

Steve Jobs really was an astounding human.  Too bad he went fascistic in his last moments in regard to Android.  Still, he was astounding.  

Winston Elliott is really, really smart.

Few folks can make me laugh as much as Mark Kalthoff.

Middle class people who take welfare (especially WIC) are arrogant and rude to themselves, their children, and their neighbors. I was horrified at the woman in front of me at a Kroger’s this week, dressed to the nines, but screaming at her kids, and paying with a WIC card.

The Hotel Andaluz may very well be one of the finest hotels in America. The beauty of the interior was matched only by the excellence of the staff. In particular, David the Clerk was incredible.

The Lucia, located within the Hotel Andaluz, might be one of the finest restaurants in America. Gail made one of the two or three finest meals I’ve ever experienced. Michael, the waiter, brought the meal with dignity and class. Thank you for the best meal I’ve had since visiting Bahn Thai in Seattle over a decade ago. 

If I had to choose between either Mel Bradford's vision of the founding or Harry Jaffa's, I'd attempt to immigrate to Canada.

One of the most touching things to encounter is a young person returning from a military tour abroad and being welcomed home by her jubilant family. Even at 1:00am at Detroit Airport, such a reunion brought an amazing lift to my soul.

But, the best moment of the week—building space ships out of Legos with my son, John. Best two hours of my last seven weeks.

Republicanism and Liberty: The "Patrick Henry"/"Onslow" Debate

By H. Lee Cheek, Sean Busick, and Carey Roberts

The fiercely contested, yet inconclusive election of 1824 set the stage for one of the great debates of American political history. According to Irving Bartlett, “the key to understanding Calhoun’s political behavior and thinking from 1825 through 1828 may be found in the peculiar conditions under which the election of 1824 occurred.”¹   The same can be said of John Quincy Adams. Fellow cabinet members John Quincy Adams, who served as President Monroe’s Secretary of State, and John C. Calhoun, who served as Secretary of War, entered the fray along with Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and newly elected senator, Andrew Jackson.  Calhoun soon realized he lacked adequate support to be elected president and withdrew from the race after Pennsylvania nominated Andrew Jackson. Accepting the vice-presidential nomination, and aligning himself with Jackson, Calhoun was elected by a large majority. 

In the presidential contest, none of the four remaining candidates won either an electoral or a popular majority. Jackson garnered 99 electoral votes, Adams 84, Crawford 41, and Clay 37. It then fell to the House of Representatives, where Jackson’s nemesis Clay was speaker, to choose between the top three candidates. In an unusual series of events, Clay came to Adams's aid, with the House vote securing the election for Adams and giving the country a president and vice-president who were political rivals. The president-elect proceeded to appoint Clay as Secretary of State; the office that had become a stepping-stone to the presidency. 

The more popular Andrew Jackson thought he had been robbed and immediately began preparing for 1828. Though the charge has never been proven, many Americans, including Calhoun, agreed with Jackson and considered the supposed arrangement between Clay and Adams a "corrupt bargain.” Neither Adams nor Calhoun was in a comfortable situation. Adams was a minority president, who many believed had stolen the office, and was saddled with a vice president allied with the opposition. Calhoun had been elected independently of the president whose republican virtue he questioned and whose policies he opposed.   

The emerging personal and philosophical dispute between Vice-President John C. Calhoun and President John Quincy Adams prompted the "Patrick Henry"/"Onslow" debate and their subsequent disengagement from each other. Adams's early initiatives alarmed Calhoun, who feared the "principles of '98" were threatened by this proposed dramatic increase of the general government's power and the erosion of constitutional integrity. On the other hand, Calhoun's lack of support for the administration's programs was a source of great and legitimate concern to Adams. Having been unjustly accused of striking a corrupt bargain with Henry Clay to win the presidency, Adams was especially sensitive to any hint of disloyalty.

Continue reading at Arator: A Journal of Southern History, Thought, and Culture.