Articles Archive
Localist Roundup: Walkability and the Court
This piece reports a intriguing study indicating that walkable neighborhoods lower the risk of diabetes. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court made a ruling yesterday that loosened limits on campaign donations. And…
Pope Francis and Distributism
In an article at The American Conservative, Arthur W. Hunt III argues that the economic ideas touched on by Pope Francis point in the direction of distributism, a third way…
Hope for Peters
For those in the Great Lakes region, our own Jason Peters will be speaking this Thursday (April 3) in the Schaap Auditorium at Hope College. His lecture is entitled "What…
The Gift of Spring
“Nor would the stress Of life be bearable for tender things Did not so long a respite come between The cold and heat, and heaven’s indulgence grant This comfort to…
Regarding Porn
As Mary Eberstadt has recently pointed out over at First Things, evidence is accumulating that the current day usage of pornography is taking a toll on marriages and families. And,…
What’s a Localist to Do?
Hidden Springs Lane. It’s not easy being a localist. Vladimir Putin has taken Crimea and many in the West are afraid that he has designs on the rest of Ukraine…
G.K. Chesterton in 1000 Words
I once knew a woman who met Chesterton. It was a brief meeting in the 1920s when she was a girl of about ten or so. Her older sister invited…
Localist Roundup: Berry and Francis
This interesting piece explains that small government conservatives (the author mainly has libertarians in mind, it seems) cannot work together with neocons. Meanwhile, Wendell Berry (and some others) will be…
Of Bees and Moonshine
Hidden Springs Lane. In the spring of 2012, I started keeping bees. The first thing to notice is that people do not raise bees or herd bees. In fact, one…
Localist Roundup: The Cloak
This piece from The Economist attempts to argue that narcissism can be good. Meanwhile, this piece asks whether rural America is a thing of the past. Ostensibly, social media is…
A New Book on Place
FPR contributor Ted McAllister and Bill McClay have just published a collection of essays titled Why Place Matters: Geography, Identity, and Civic Life in Modern America. It includes essays by…
The Crafting of the Fourteenth Amendment
Several years ago, after driving past the impressively proportioned Harrison County Courthouse in my hometown of Cadiz for the hundredth time, I thought I ought to stop and look and…
Localist Roundup: Societal Collapse
This piece offers some interesting data about the proclivities of young adults. Apparently, there are tendencies away from religious affiliation, political identification, and early marriage. Meanwhile, this piece invokes research…
Rod Dreher Speaking in Wichita, KS
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] If it so happens that someone who sees this post lives in or within driving distance of Wichita, KS, then let me invite you: the…
The Silence of Authority
Sometimes speaking, or holding one’s tongue, can make the difference. All the difference. For life and death. Many in authority today are silent when they should not be. Through weakness.…
Rod Dreher at Cornerstone University Tonight
For readers in Western Michigan, Rod Dreher is speaking at Cornerstone University tonight at 7pm in the Matthews Auditorium. He is talking about Community and The Little Way of Ruthie…
Rock n’ Roll, Inc: The Power Source Behind America’s Founding and its Operational Strength
It is often said that Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1839 essay, “Self Reliance”, is the real American Declaration of Independence, and to a certain extent this is true. Emerson was a…
Localist Roundup: Texting and Parenting
Pope Francis has recently been invited to address the U.S. Congress, according to this piece. Meanwhile this piece has a pessimistic projection of the fate of that institution (specifically the…
Mumford and Suns
“For a child”, I remember our priest saying a few years ago, ”the sun rises over the barn and sets on the further side of the field”. In the next,…
The Heart, in Suffering
“Some day, perhaps, remembering even this Will be a pleasure.” Virgil, The Aeneid, I Aeneas and his men have endured much since leaving Troy. And of course they left only…
A Militarism We Call Patriotism
With the U.S. military experience in Iraq finally concluded, in January of 2012, President Barack Obama bookended his State of the Union address with an appeal for the nation to…
Imagining Healthy Work: Why We all Have to Become Monks
This essay was originally presented at Spring Arbor University’s annual Focus series. I am speaking today not as a literature specialist, nor as a professional economist, nor as a business…
Ciceronian Society Conference Schedule, March 27 – 29, Mount Saint Mary’s University
The 2014 Ciceronian Society Conference at Mount Saint Mary's University (Emmitsburg, Maryland) is quickly approaching. Below is our schedule of speakers for March 27th - 29th. Several notable intellectuals will…
Localist Roundup: Lent Selfies
The news has been abuzz recently with the story of a teen suing her parents to pay for her education. Meanwhile, this piece discusses the practice of Ash Wednesday "selfies."…