Articles Archive

The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was a civil rights legend and American hero. Born deep in the Jim Crow south during the 1920s, he grew from the humble, but durable roots…

Until one of us finds the time to slap down Joe Carter's attack on distributism (as Rod Dreher called upon us to do), I'll direct our good readers to a…

I received the latest issue of the essential journal The New Atlantis yesterday, and was honored once again to appear in its pages. The essay in question - entitled "The…

The “Occupy Wall Street” movement has proved to be significant in its appeal – a majority of Americans support the movement, even though it has been less than articulate in…

Several months ago I claimed that “the American conservative’s attitude toward education is often even worse than that of his [liberal] counterpart.” It turns out Rush Limbaugh has been so…

Nashville, Tennessee -- This is a tale of two neighborhoods, a move from one to the other, and the inherent contradictions of gentrification. Our old neighborhood, close to downtown, was…

If we expect others to rely on our fairness and justice we must show that we rely on their fairness and justice. —Calvin Coolidge My wife and I recently vacationed…

We lived now in a wrecked forest, but this is only the beginning.

The Spring 2011 issue of The City includes an insightful piece by Wilfred McClay on “The Illusion of Mastery” in public policy. When the “will of God” no longer suffices…

The New Yorker examines the animating ideas behind OWS. I suppose this is what happens when childishness, boredom, social media, anxiety, and apocalypticism mix. Or, history repeating itself as farce.…

The Atlantic Cities blog this month takes a look at a quarterly home design trend survey from the American Institute of Architects.  Apparently in hard economic times, homeowners have different…

Mayville, North Dakota -- You're looking northwest from our front porch in Mayville, North Dakota.  The picture, taken Sunday afternoon, November 13, casts doubt on what everyone knows about the…

Walter Russell Mead takes on the Baby Boomers.

If you haven’t read Euthyphro, then you should. If you have read it, then you should read it again.

Every excess causes a defect; every defect an excess. — Ralph Waldo Emerson It is appropriate that Robin Rogers begins her informative essay on the state of philanthrocapitalism with a…

I will be lecturing tomorrow, Thursday, November 17 at the University of Texas at Austin. My lecture is entitled "Why Great Books?" and is being sponsored by the Jefferson Center…

Video of the September 24, 2011 conference at Mount St. Mary's University is now up on You Tube. Search for "human scale conference" or click here. Thanks to the tech…

Lincoln, Nebraska -- When I first read about FPR's View from Your Porch series, I immediately decided to submit something. Then I thought about the view from my front porch.…

Late last week, The New Inquiry published an email exchange between Daniel Larison of The American Conservative and political theorist Corey Robin. Larison had taken issue with Robin's argument that…

How can there be a social contract when the contract's parties disagree sharply regarding its meaning?

Phoenix, Arizona -- Looking east from our front porch in Willo, you see the results of one of Phoenix's bigger Big Mistakes: the distant office towers on Central Avenue. Those…

Devon, PA.  Last week, Villanova University's Office of Mission and Ministry invited several faculty members to speak about the contributions of their religious faith traditions to the life and mission…

Devon, PA.  As I announced some months back, Front Porch Republic will return to the University of Notre Dame this week to participate in the Center for Ethics and Culture's…

Mobility is the great undiagnosed sickness afflicting America. All of our ruling class and most of our writing class consist of deracinated careerists who scorn the placebound as ambitionless losers…