In considering the Prince's "What is wrong with everyone nowadays?" memo, Roger Scruton writes in this week's Spectator about a favourite philosopher of mine -

In an essay written over a century ago the philosopher F.H. Bradley reflected on "my station and its duties", and said that the human being becomes what he truly is only by realising his freedom in society, and each act of self-realisation involves creating and adopting a social station. Whether you are rich or poor, smooth or rough, leisured or banausic, you become what you are through the circles of influence and affection that distinguish you. Unhappiness comes from being discontented with your station, while lacking the means to change it. And for all of us there comes a point when we settle in a social position which we have neither the power nor the will to change. It is from this sense of our social station that our duties emerge, Bradley argues. There is no single set of obligations, no "duty for duty's sake", that applies to all mankind. Each of us is encumbered by the duties of his station and happiness comes through fulfilling them. However humble your position, it comes to you marked with the distinction between right and wrong — a right way of occupying your station and a wrong way. Your duties may take the form of a professional ethic, of a specific role like that of doctor or teacher, of an office like that of prime minister. They might even take the onerous hereditary form of those imposed on Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales — duties which he takes extremely seriously.

Bradley argues that individuals are made by the communities in which they come into being.

None of the reviews of the new Bridget Jones film that I've read have mentioned that it includes another fight between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth's characters, which is almost as funny as that in the original. In general the new film's humour is broader, and settles sometimes for easier laughs - but most fans of the first one will enjoy it.

good line I just heard on a panel game on BBC 7 -

"Brighton is a town that looks as if it has been helping the police with their enquiries"

a gag that could be adapted to refer to St. Kilda for local use

oops

Sikhs and Hindus in east London were upset when they received cards celebrating the Muslim festival of Eid from the Labour MP Oona King. Her office said it had not had time to check the religion of all voters with Muslim-sounding names.

(from the London Daily Telegraph, sourced from a story in the UK Independent)

I liked President Bush's speech on announcing that Condaleeza Rice is to be the new US Secretary of State - in fact I found this section somewhat moving -

Meeting all of these objectives will require wise and skillful leadership at the Department of State, and Condi Rice is the right person for that challenge. She's a recognized expert in international affairs, a distinguished teacher and academic leader, and a public servant with years of White House experience. She displays a commitment to excellence in every aspect of her life, from shaping our strategy in the war on terror, to coordinating national security policy across the government, to performing classical music on stage. Above all, Dr. Rice has a deep, abiding belief in the value and power of liberty, because she has seen freedom denied and freedom reborn.

As a girl in the segregated South, Dr. Rice saw the promise of America violated by racial discrimination and by the violence that comes from hate. But she was taught by her mother, Angelina, and her father, the Reverend John Rice, that human dignity is the gift of God, and that the ideals of America would overcome oppression. That early wisdom has guided her through life, and that truth has guided our nation to a better day.

I know that the Reverend and Mrs. Rice would be filled with pride to see the daughter they raised in Birmingham, Alabama, chosen for the office first held by Thomas Jefferson. Something tells me, however, they would not be surprised.

"human dignity is the gift of God" - this sounds like whatever exactly it was that Cardinal Pell was saying the other day, that seemed to get people so upset - about the desirability of "democracy founded on the transcendent dignity of the human."

"I would vote for Bush if for no other reason than to be at the airport waving off all the people who say they are going to London if he wins again. Someone has got to stay behind."

The great Tom Wolfe, interviewed by the UK's Guardian