Articles Archive
Against Pets
The tractors came. The horses Stood in the fields, keepsakes, grew old, and died. Or were sold as dogmeat. Our minds received the revolution of engines, our will stretched toward…
An Apology to Our Readers
I must apologize to all our readers and my fellow contributors here for the intrusion of my cousin Cassie Pigeon in a recent post under my byline. I had my extended…
Transgression and the Packaging of Forbidden Knowledge: A Beggar’s Ball with ADD.
Washington, CT. Brains as Brawn have gotten we exiles from the Garden of Eden into a lot of trouble over the years. Though capable of spectacular expressions of beauty and…
Away We’ve Gone
Claremont, CA. When she is six months pregnant with their baby, Verona and her boyfriend Burt almost move to Montreal – because a couple they knew in college lives there.…
The Peasantry of the Future
Irving, TX. In answer to the question, “What do the poor want?” Simone Weil replied “They want you to look at them.” I take Simone's answer to mean we must…
Sarah’s Palin’
Kearneysville, WV. One of the stars in the Republican galaxy (notable today mostly for its lack of stars) pulled a surprise move last week that has plenty of people scratching…
The Alternative Tradition in America
Alexandria, VA Since Caleb has posted his lecture from a legendary conference a few years ago that a number of future Front Porchers attended in Charlottesville, VA, I've brushed off…
Broken Connections
"We live on the far side of a broken connection" Wendell Berry has written. One of the greatest obstacles resulting from our current circumstance is our inability to make the…
Carrots in Vermicelli*
The following is not intended to upset our happily balanced ecumenical apple cart ... As a Scots-Presbyterian of old psalm singing austerity, I tend to enjoy observing the furor set off…
Civilizing the Economy
Pope Benedict XVI's eagerly awaited third encyclical was released today: "Charity in Truth." I'll be reading it over the next few days, but here's a link to a quick synopsis.…
Can’t Buy Me Love
The folks at First Things have been kind enough to ignore my lame punning and respond to some of my criticisms, which has resulted in some helpful progress on examining…
Justice and Community
The conversation between Rusty Reno, Jody Bottum, and Caleb Stegall prompted me to revisit a recent post from "What I Saw In America" in response to a reader reply who…
Race, Localism, and the Problem of Over-Articulation: A Further Response to First Things
Joe Carter, managing editor of First Things, has been gracious enough to put up with my jokes at his boss's expense, so forthwith, I offer the following as the more…
On Canada, Conservatism, Tories, and Blackberries
Wichita, KS In honor of Canada Day, in the fine federation (though these days, in the eyes of a majority of Canadians, less a federation than an Americanized nation, or…
Will Wendell Be Jailed?
Claremont, CA. Wendell Berry, writer and farmer and hero to the people, might move from the farmhouse to the big house. Speaking at one of the USDA's National Identification System…
Carolina is for Pig-Lovers
BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY--Here comes the Fourth, and instead of asking why Americans revolted against remote authority in 1776 yet countenance it today, let us now praise picnics and beer and…
What’s Modernity Marx Got to Do With It? (FPR vs. PoMoCon, Part Drei)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS Blogger though I am, I can't deny that there is a major advantage to arguments conducted through the slower media of paper (to…
Aristotle and the Cult of the Immediate
In the current economic and political crisis, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is not likely to be one of the first places that Americans go looking for wisdom. It should be. Throughout…
C’mon Do the Pomocomotion With Me
A few impressions on the state of play. 1. Agree with JMW that this exchange has not been very helpful, and reiterate first thought that "comments" maximize tedium and minimize…
Place as Gift, Freedom
Good Lord, blogging is bad for the soul. That is a confession, not a violation of the Third Commandment, for those of you keeping track. What am I doing in…
Walkers of the World, Unite!
I've been accused (at least by association) by so many pomocon partisans of being pro-Obama, I'm almost starting to believe it myself. So here's great news. Obama's much-publicized concern about…
On the Jewish Question
As Caleb has already noted here, Rusty Reno and Jody Bottum have been mixing it up over at First Things over issues of localism, a hot topic of late on…
Not My Hometown
Let it not be said that FPR indiscriminately supports "localism." I believe that all my compatriots here would agree that this is one "locality" that cannot be defended. Maybe that's…
FPR v. PoMoCon, Part Deux
Some heat and even some light have been generated in the numerous comments that followed upon my original posting in which I threw some gauntlets around. However, some inevitable reductionism…