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All my life I have been aware that the loudest mouths in any group always go for the common reading of Hobbs on the nature of man and its commonly supposed political implications. Leaving aside that the common reading of Hobbs on man’s nature is inaccurate with respect to what he wrote and meant, I have observed all these years that loud mouths’ conjuring of Hobbs (common reading) is cover for their being overbearing loud mouths.

This Hamachek writer is one of those loud mouths. He does not know Hobbs, he does not know human nature, and he does not know political philosophy. I note that Sundance posts Hamachek without comment. I note also that most commenters here take Hamachek as an oracle.

Hamachek’s post is a rhetorical honey-pot trap, a classic of the breed in fact, and the Hobbs-reference has historical precedent in such a use. Such traps are floated out in order to draw approval and thereby give their creators targeting information. Less sophisticated trolling now infests conservative blogs, whereat countless trolls beat their chests, forecast civil war (always just around the corner), and yell out the need for action. These are targeting trolls working for big-monied comment farms who are making lists of persons to surveil, market to, and otherwise own.

If the common reading of Hobbs is accurate and, as Hamachek implies, the last word on the subject, then Menagerie’s spiritual and culinary interests have no place at CTH. But those interests are very present at CTH. ERGO: Hamachek’s conjuring of Hobbs (common reading) is not the last word on the subject, and Hamachek’s call to action — a call he himself no doubt ignores — is not sound.

IMO: Hamachek is an ignorant loud mouth working an agenda about which he is taciturn. A theological appreciation of political philosophy — and reminder to devotees of a common reading of Hobbs — might look something like this.

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When you take your body to different places, and when you go about moving aimlessly, the mind also goes to different places. If the body is moving all the time, then the mind is also moving. If you have a container filled with water, if the container is continually shaking, then the contents will continually be shaky too. So we should not keep moving our body and limbs in an aimless manner; this is a very essential part of our practice of meditation. We should sit quiet and the body should be steady. Why do we ask people to sit straight and to sit quiet in meditation? Because when the body is straight and quiet, the mind inside is also straight and quiet. If you cannot control your body, how can you control your mind? The first thing is to control your body by steadying all the limbs and body organs. The basis for the mind wandering is that your physical body is also constantly wandering. So first give up that.