Ashes of Apathy in El Salvador
Ashes of Apathy in El Salvador
The May/June 2024 issue of The American Conservative was published today, and it is my duty to shill it.
Many of my Substack subscribers are new.
You may or may not be aware that I am a contributing editor at The American Conservative.
As such, it is my job to promote the new issue, which was published today.
I just tweeted out a promotional thread, which I would tremendously appreciate any retweets on:
Here are the 18 articles in this free issue, please give them some clicks if you find the topic interesting 🙂:
A New Era at TAC: In January, Curt Mills took over as executive director of The American Conservative. This is the first print issue commissioned and edited entirely under his leadership.
How Ohio Became the Center of the Republican World: In which @CurtMills
ponders the possibility of JD Vance getting the tap as Trump's VP, and declares that Midwest political influence—and Ohio Republican power, particularly—is back on the scene.
Ashes of Apathy in El Salvador: This one is mine!!! I spent 2 months in El Salvador! Rather than write about how amazing Bukele is, I noticed that they keep burning their markets down, and seem to be utterly incapable of rebuilding. The problem is corrupt/incompetent mayors and a culture of paternalism.
How American Agriculture Went Wrong: The same forces of globalization and consolidation that hit the rest of the economy have wrecked America’s farms.
How to Tame the Deep State: ''The administrative state presents the single greatest crisis facing our county, a crisis of constitutional magnitude ... This is a moment for bigger changes. If not now, when? If not Trump, then who?''
Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature: A review of Peter Rabbit tales for children. ''Her work brings out the best in people—a little warmth, generosity, and likely a recollection of one’s own childhood.''
Rehabilitating Syngman Rhee: A new documentary on the nation’s maligned founding father has drawn praise from the conservative Yoon government.
Teaching in the Age of the Smartphone: Will Collins teaches 12th grade in Hungary and writes about the deleterious impact that smartphones are having on teenagers there.
Victimhood Puts Art Beyond Criticism: Peter Tonguette asks the question: Would any art critic today dare question the artistic merits of, or rationale behind, the countless murals painted of George Floyd during and after the summer of 2020?
Sound Retreat!: William Lind argues that no element of the art of war is so misunderstood as the retreat. Therefore, ''In Europe, we should withdraw all American forces.''
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Reporter @bradleydevlin travels to the hills of eastern Kentucky to speak to locals about how to bring manufacturing jobs back, and how to end the opioid crisis.
When Feminism Was ‘Sexist': The women who opposed their own enfranchisement in the Victorian era have little in common with the “Repeal the 19th” fringe of today.
The Long Road to the Steyn Verdict: ''Climate scientists have been hounding dissenters for years. In a D.C. courtroom, they scored a crowning victory for censorship.''
Sitcom King Lear: A reflection on Norman Lear, Archie Bunker, and All in the Family.
A Lesson for Pro-Lifers: Matthew Schmitz argues that ''The rules of democracy require abortion opponents to embrace, for now, moderation like Trump’s.''
America’s Public Transit Nightmare: @harryscherer_ reviews Americosis, a new book from @ForsterSam, ''A blend of cultural analysis, data collection, and bright journalistic color, Forster offers a delicate treatment of coarse content.''
The Worst-Case Scenario of International Adoption: @EvieSolheim
reviews a new book from @rachelbnolan about the horrors of coercive adoptions in Guatemala ''The government used international adoption to cover up domestic problems such as disintegrated families, mass poverty, and genocide.''
The Columnist: The Library of America gives Jimmy Breslin the treatment.
Here is a link to the full issue.
Thanks! Back to regularly scheduled programming soon.
I have been curious about finding out more about El Salvador. Your picture is a very depressing take indeed! But are you the journalistic equivalent of a burned out vendor of Chinese underwear with 20 competitors trying to sell the exact same inventory to zero customers, waiting for your editor to hand you down an interesting story idea to do something with? This is all you got after 60 days? What about Bukele? What about Bitcoin? What are the resources of the country and who is going to do something creative with them? Like Max Keiser floating the concept of Volcano bonds to develop geothermal generated electricity to mine Bitcoin?
These (including yours) are some fantastic articles on the TAC, Chris.
I especially enjoyed #5. How to Tame the Deep State. It really fired me up.
#4 How American Agriculture Went Wrong was well written, and also very interesting. The hollowing out of America does indeed continue apace.
Keep up the GREAT work over at your day job, and we’ll keep reading (both places)
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