Comments on: My Sense of Place

By: Postmodern Conservative — A First Things Blog

Postmodern Conservative — A First Things Blog — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:40:47 +0000

[...] was deeply gratified to read Jack Ross’ paen to the Green Mountain Republic at Post Right. I would urge him, however, before going all Benedict Option on the place to consider [...]

By: Thomas O. Meehan

Thomas O. Meehan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:25:38 +0000

VA_Paleocon, my understanding is that Vermont has practically no gun laws at all. Now Thats 2nd Amendment friendly!

By: sestamibi

sestamibi — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:28:06 +0000

“I must say I find the whole “People’s Republic” narrative quite tiresome. It is perhaps a fair description of Burlington, but most of the folks I’ve gotten to know up here are, whatever their foibles, ruggedly individualist and instinctively conservative – in short, the kind of people you would more likely run into at a Ron Paul rally than at a Take Back America conference.”

Oh really? Is that why Obama carried not only every county in Vermont, but all but one county in all of New England?

By: VA_Paleocon

VA_Paleocon — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:34:36 +0000

“The so-called “real leftists” favor some things the traditionalist Right can embrace: civic communitarianism, organic society, agrarianism, localism, etc.”

They are also at least not hostile to gun rights, too, at least I think so since from what I understand Vermont has some of the most Second Amendment friendly laws in the country.

I see your point about the downside, though. Still, the country would be a better place if the choice was between Pat Buchanan and Bernie Sanders rather than George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

By: N.P. West

N.P. West — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:55:32 +0000

The so-called “real leftists” favor some things the traditionalist Right can embrace: civic communitarianism, organic society, agrarianism, localism, etc. but then they also embrace civil libertarianism which is destructive to community and offends the sensibilities of a Chestertonian or Kirkian who thinks the natural family is the basic unit of society. It is also my experience that these same “real leftists” are as committed to abstract rights like health care and abortion as their so-called “Park Avenue liberal” cousins.

I’ve lived here 30 years and I also find the “People’s Republic” narrative quite tiresome, if only because it is true.

By: Jack Ross

Jack Ross — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:06:40 +0000

A couple points:

1) As Bill Kauffman has said in his praises of Vermont in TAC, there is a difference between the real leftists who migrated in the 60s and 70s and as such established real communities, and the Park Avenue liberals who followed them. In defense of my mother, whose values most TAC readers would deplore, she is certainly more of the former than the latter.

2) I must say I find the whole “People’s Republic” narrative quite tiresome. It is perhaps a fair description of Burlington, but most of the folks I’ve gotten to know up here are, whatever their foibles, ruggedly individualist and instinctively conservative – in short, the kind of people you would more likely run into at a Ron Paul rally than at a Take Back America conference.

By: VA_Paleocon

VA_Paleocon — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:44:43 +0000

“Ah! Conservative paradise! Finally, a place where tradition, permanence, culture, institution, and lesbianism can flourish!”

Vermont is what you get when you mix together paleoconservatism and real, honest-to-God McGovernite leftism (quite distinct from the centralized, grandiose FDR/LBJ/Obama type).

By: N.P. West

N.P. West — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:42:14 +0000

Mr. Ross will have to excuse my dissent from his enthusiastic praises of Vermont. What he experienced is not uncommon among those who boost the progressive urban refugees who have supplanted the native population, as, like Gramsci, they have marched through the institutions of the Green Mountain State. Known as “flatlanders” by the natives, these wealthy liberal elites have foisted on Vermonters everything from gay marriage to the socialistic Catamount Health program to an unsustainable and reckless budget. I may applaud their quaint imitations of distributism and agrarianism but neither Chesterton nor Tate would be amused. It seems his sense of place is distinctly off.

By: Thomas O. Meehan

Thomas O. Meehan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:59:27 +0000

Thanks for the info on Norwich U. I had no idea it was a real institution. Now if there was just some Conservative paradise in the Sunbelt…

By: Andrew Davis

Andrew Davis — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:21:01 +0000

Ah! Conservative paradise! Finally, a place where tradition, permanence, culture, institution, and lesbianism can flourish!

Something’s missing here.