The Midland Agrarian: April 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Wisdom from Gillis Harp

Great book review discussing the problems of Randian Objectivism, from the Senior Warden of my church, and my friend, Gillis Harp:

"Dispensing with God can leave one with either an all-powerful state, or the all-powerful self". You can read the rest here

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wisdom From Canon Tallis

"Those who strike out at the faith and practice of the prayer book are also striking out at the very dignity and freedom of every man. One of the doctrines of the framers of the American Constitution and government was that we receive our rights, not from government but from God. And that is a doctrine which they learned both from the Bible, the Authorized Version, and from the Book of Common Prayer".

Read it all Here.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What is wrong with America in One minute or Less

On occasion, I see an observation that succinctly states everything that is wrong with American Society and Culture today.

Here it is in less than 25 words, from Protestant Pontifications.

Why the Midland Agrarian?

Cultural geographers and students of dialect call the great area of the Ohio valley, upper South and lower Midwest the "midlands of the US". The midland dialect around here includes words such as "redding" for cleaning up our rooms, the "Crick" where we get fish or swim, "youns" for plural "you" and "warshing" for the laundry. Cultural artifacts from the midlands include forebay barns.

Western Pennsylvania was also once a part of the "middle ground" between the Great Lakes and the main portion of the Ohio Valley.

I chose the name "midland" agrarian to distinguish between the many fine southern agrarian writers (Like Wendell Berry), and the truly northern agrarian writers, like Russell Kirk and Eric Sloane. This was not an attempt to place myself in their company, but to recognize the unique aspects of my home country, which I love.