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Robert Frost, commencement speaker — 11 Comments

  1. I had an in-law who used to drop by our house once per year for a couple days. He and I would talk into the wee hours while sipping bourbon about politics, the founders and the Federalist Papers. I didn’t realize until later that he wrote his Ph.D. thesis on the Federalist Papers at the U. of Chicago. He’s gone now, and is missed.

    The push for equality: The commentary below is from Donald Boudreaux, an econ. prof. from George Mason U. writing to the editor of the Philadelphia Trib. Later incorporated into a compilation book of his. It’s long and maybe a little inelegant, but I like it.

    Suppose that Jones chooses a career as a poet. Jones treasures the time he spends walking in the woods and strolling city streets in leisurely reflection; his reflections lead him to write poetry critical of capitalist materialism. Working as a poet, Jones earns $20,000 annually.

    Smith chooses a career as an emergency-room physician. She works an average of 60 hours weekly and seldom takes a vacation. Her annual salary is $400,000. Is this “distribution” of income unfair? Is Smith responsible for Jones’ relatively low salary? Does Smith owe Jones money? If so, how much? And what is the formula you use to determine Smith’s debt to Jones?

    While Dr. Smith earns more money than does poet Jones, poet Jones earns more leisure than does Dr. Smith. Do you believe leisure has value to those who possess it? If so, are you disturbed by the inequality of leisure that separates leisure-rich Jones from leisure-poor Smith? Do you advocate policies to “redistribute” leisure from Jones to Smith—say, by forcing Jones to wash Smith’s dinner dishes or to chauffeur Smith to and from work? If not, why not?

  2. Suppose that Jones chooses a career as a poet.

    Most people don’t have careers. Some have trades. A plurality just have jobs. Their choices are rather more constrained than others.

    Let’s have a Sherman Act or something, to keep people from getting too rich.

    The point of anti-trust law is to prevent producers from colluding.

    And, yes, it’s impossible to imagine his address today out of the mouth of anyone in any component of the faculty. We’re much more ‘diverse’. Or whatever.

  3. What is the American dream? Like the weather, it varies. My dream would not be the same as someone else’s. But very few dreams are possible without freedom. Freedom to choose where you live, what you will do to earn a living, to own property backed by courts of law, to speak your opinions without fear of retribution, to practice your religion without intolerance, and more. Many Americans who have not traveled abroad don’t realize that these freedoms are limited/absent in many areas of the world. Thus, they don’t appreciate them.

    Without freedom you may not be able develop your talents and abilities to become what you are capable of. Equality or egalitarianism may appeal to lay abouts, slackers, poets, artists, and others who avoid hard work or mercantilism, but the modern world sits on the shoulders of those who worked hard, worked smart, and raised us all up from lives of just getting by to a world of possibilities where even the poor have cars and TVs. Only people devoted to the cult of socialism/Marxism think differently. Unfortunately, there seem to be many of that ilk today – AOC and the Squad being prime examples.

  4. Interesting person, his intelligence shines: the insight into the bag of snakes story is original and intriguing. I’m impressed.
    I know Frost by name but never read anything by him: any suggestion for a starting point? Thanks

  5. Only people devoted to the cult of socialism/Marxism think differently.

    I know of no Marxists in our public life. I know of many people with an interest in harassing and abusing others. They work within the Democratic Party almost exclusively.

  6. My favorite Frost poem is “The Woodpile.” Many others are close. I have been to his house and seen his “two holer” sanitary facility.

  7. Equality or egalitarianism may appeal to lay abouts, slackers, poets, artists, and others who avoid hard work or mercantilism,

    You probably should define your terms before making declaratory statements like this.

  8. I was going to be bold and make a recommendation for Paolo, even though I knew that Neo is better versed (ha!) in Frost’s work than I am. In preparing to do so, I pulled out the Library of America edition of Frost–the very same edition that’s at the top of the page, I suppose–and, going through some of the selections, ran across “Bereft” and thought it very apropos indeed. I’d never read it before.

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