Articles Archive
Adam and Eve on the Porch: The Place of Majestic Man
Lately I’ve had the privilege of working through The Lonely Man of Faith (1965) by Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993), an influential Orthodox rabbi with deep ties to Yeshiva University and a…
Republicans and the Language of Citizenship
Berwyn, PA. I add my voice to the FPR symposium on the presidential election in this morning's edition of Crisis Magazine, where I assess the way in which President Obama…
Memory and the Damming State
The family’s life in this village had come to an end when the lake was dammed in 1958. One wonders who would consider such things worth it.
A Post-Election Symposium
The following is a series of reflections and ruminations on Decision 2012, courtesy of FPR writers-at-large. Winnebago County, IL. Following Standard Operating Procedures, Republican bosses in Washington [and their lackeys…
Standing Athwart History Crying, “Me Too!”
The GOP strategists once again react to getting clobbered by calling for an embrace of their (alleged) opponents' policies. After all, if only Romney could've distanced himself from pro-life fanatics…
Science and Elections
There are any number of explanations for Tuesday's outcomes. My own sense is that the Republicans simply can't put together a national majority and won't be able to any time…
Post Mortem
Holland, MI Let it be said that there is no longer any politically relevant conservative voice in America. The conservative movement has been thoroughly ghettoized. The only party that paid…
True Politics in the Wake of Obama
Berwyn, PA. I woke this morning, prepared to write a point-by-point assessment of yesterday's election, though I was not looking forward to the job, since one must say this morning the…
Life Under Compulsion: The Billows Teaching Machine
Charlie Chaplin is working on an assembly line. He tightens bolts with a pair of wrenches. He does this without stop, over and over, for hours on end. The repetitive…
Decision 2012: Rootin’ For Putin
The folks at Conservative Heritage Times have kindly asked me to participate in a virtual symposium -- something similar to those being held by the FPR editors and the American Conservative writers. Anyone curious…
Considering the Alternatives: The Editors on the Election
If Americans don’t vote in record numbers in this year’s election it won’t be because they haven’t been reminded. Bob Schieffer concluded the third debate with an admonishment to vote.…
The View from Your Front Porch
LEXINGTON, Mass. -- It is not a porch, but a long cement slab that stretches the width of our home, which we make on the lower level of a small…
Of Bees and Boys
My brother Brett and I were polite but rambunctious children who made a game of killing bees and dumping their carcasses into buckets of rainwater. Having heard that bees, like…
What’s Paleo About Evangelicalism?
The Baylor University historian, Thomas Kidd, wrote a post recently in his regular column at Patheos about evangelicals who are neither liberal nor comfortable with the GOP. He referred to…
Limits and Conscientious Consumption
Lincoln, I was informed when I was nine years old, freed the slaves. I learned that lesson well; I was an excellent student. Lincoln freed the slaves and, in my…
What Women Voters Want: Addendum
Kate has captured nicely a kind of sexual nihilism regnant in contemporary feminism. It has now become campaign fodder: Obama Ad Were this my daughter I would be mortified. This…
School Consolidation and Slow Democracy
April in West Virginia smells like wild leeks: pungent and oniony. In the woods, their slim green leaves look like lilies of the valley, but pull the white bulb from…
The Wrong Side of History
Berwyn, PA. Cardinal George offers us the strong words -- not of oracular prophecy, but of historical wisdom. A few passages: Communism imposed a total way of life based upon the…
Slow Democracy
The protestors stood on the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, brandishing bowls of penne pasta. Above them rose the wide marble staircase of the Spanish Steps; nearby, turquoise water spilled…
Why Urban Christians Need Wendell Berry
At Christianity Today, Jake Meador argues that Wendell Berry has something important to teach urban Christians. At root, Berry's Port William is a worshiping community. Indeed, I don't know another…
Not Hurting Anybody
At the film festival in Cannes this past summer and at the Toronto film festival in the fall, Nick Cassavetes brought to the screen his new film Yellow. It is…
Finger Foods
Set in the heart of the Burned-Over District, the Finger Lakes region of New York is among the culturally, historically, and culinarily richest parts of the country. Now it has…
Life Under Compulsion: From Schoolhouse to School Bus
“Imagine,” said my friend, “how long it takes the bus to go from Little Anse,” a village at the extreme end of the island where my family and I spend…