Woe Should We Do?

A Request for Feedback

I’ve been struggling with writing Contemplations on the Tree of Woe lately. When I started this blog, I had some heavy topics I wanted to tackle:

• A defense of the human ability to discern truth in the face of Munchausen’s Trilemma.

• An in-depth review of the petrodollar system and its ramifications.

• An exploration of the ways in which the contemporary consensus was wrong and an explanation of what I thought was correct.

• A review of the walls of “Fortress America” to assess how bad things really were.

• An explanation of why I no longer consider myself an orthodox objectivist.

• An overview of my own neo-Aristotelian theories of morality.

• A discussion of cyclical theories of history and the approach of the Fourth Turning.

• An investigation into theological issues that have troubled me most of my life.

Well, I’ve tackled them — perhaps not to the satisfaction of every critic, but certainly to my own satisfaction. Thanks to this blog (and the brilliant commenters who read it) I’ve been introduced to some really great thinkers who have helped me clarify my worldview on key matters.

Along the way I’ve also tackled some topics drawn from current affairs, like the Russo-Ukraine War or the 2020 election. Certainly there’s much more I wish I could say about such matters. But it seems to me that most of the things that need to be said, we are not allowed to say; while the things that we are allowed to say have all already been said repeatedly. No one with eyes can fail to see where our world is trending, and no one with any sense of self-preservation can say what we need to do about it.

Obviously I could just discuss current affairs or trending topics within the acceptable Overton Window, chasing clout with short-form content and hot takes. But there are other people, better connected and more in tune with the trends, that tackle that.

All of this makes it sound like I want to shut down Tree of Woe. Far from it! I started the blog without any expectation of an audience; it was for me to lay out my thoughts archivally rather than spewing them into the void of emails to friends. Now, speaking bluntly, I can’t afford to shut it down. The income from this blog has become a valuable addition to my not-very-expansive income as a game designer.

So, with that being said, I’d like to ask you for your feedback on some matters.

What primarily motivates you to read this blog? Exploration of deep issues? Defense of reason? Blackpilled despair in a cheerful format? Development of new philosophy? Something else?

Which topics that I’ve covered here have you found most interesting?

• Book reviews of unusual books (Them + Us, Real Magic, Against Free Trade)

• Epistemology (Trilemma, Noetic insight, etc.)

• Economics (Free Trade, Petrodollar, etc)

• Morality (Dietary Theory, Objectivism, etc.)

• Law and Liberty (Election 2020, Fortress America, etc.)

• Spirituality and Theology (Right Religion, Heroic Virtue, St. Michael, etc.)

Which article(s) on Tree of Woe have you found most valuable and worthy of further exploration?

Are there particular topics that you’ve hoped would get the “Woeful” treatment here? Am I wrong in thinking “the things that need to be said, we are not allowed to say; while the things that we are allowed to say have already been said repeatedly”?

Or, in general, any other commentary you’d like to offer. I appreciate my readership very much and will be grateful to anyone who shares their thoughts. The suffering on the Tree of Woe is more tolerable when other people are biting off vulture heads alongside me, after all.