Culture, High & Low 728
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…
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…
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…
The Old School
My review of Jonathan Zimmerman's Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory appears in today's Wall Street Journal ("In One Room, Many Advantages"). The book is well worth…
Southern Adulteration
Devon, PA. I have had only a few hours to appreciate the spectacle of talking-heads devouring the carrion of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's political career, but have heard thrice…
Michael Jackson’s Front Porch Moment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmXP9Y1HdWE Okay, so he never did go back to Indiana, back to where he started from. And it's too bad the Jackson 5 didn't cover Meredith Willson's Gary, Indiana.
Teenagers, Gratitude, and a Culture of Affluence
Holland, MI. Like many readers, or perhaps more accurately, like many readers with children, I read with great interest Mark Mitchell’s piece on “Cultivating Gratitude.” As the father of three…
So: Are We Hypocrites?
Claremont, CA. A student has confronted me about Front Porch Republic. So now I'm writing the post that I've known I would have to write someday. "It just doesn't seem…
Cultivating Gratitude
Blairsville, GA. Recently I was with a friend whose oldest son, having just completed his junior year, is home from college. The young man has not yet found a summer…
Brave New World Reconsidered: A Tale of Two Gnosticisms
Many who are alarmed at the prospect of the “abolition of man” have found in Huxley’s Brave New World a dark and salutary warning – an imaginative rendering of our…
The Big (Organic) Apple
Claremont, CA. The Big Apple dreams of the organic apple. Everywhere you look in The New York Times these days, somebody is talking about organic farming. A few examples -…
On the Logic and Nature of Blogging
Phoenix, Arizona. Because of my involvement with this darn site I have been attending to the blogosphere much more than heretofore, and lately have been trying to get a handle…
Liberty or Freedom?
Many involved in Front Porch Republic embrace the idea of a smallholder economy based on family production under conditions of widespread ownership of productive resources. This was the vision of…
The New “Freedom”
Claremont, CA. Becka flew into my office, so excited that she was out of breath. "Professor," she asked, "have you heard about freedom?" I couldn't help laughing. "Why yes, Becka,"…
Against (Gay) Marriage
Alexandria, VA Andrew Cherlin - the Benjamin H. Griswold III Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University - has written an important new book on marriage in…
NAIS Delenda Est
This past Friday I attended a USDA-sponsored “listening-session” concerning the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS is, in the words of USDA, “a modern, streamlined information system that helps producers…
The Importance of Growing Up Village
Cold Spring, NY. Leopold Kohr, the author of the great classic, The Breakdown of Nations, once said that his approach to the world--in favor of smaller nations, smaller institutions, smaller…
Family Warfare
GREETINGS FROM THE PROGRESSIVE POLICY WORLD It’s an honor and pleasure to be in dialogue with members of the Front Porch Republic. I heard about you from Patrick Deneen, who…
The 100 Years vs. The 100 Days Standard
Erie, PA. Americans were reminded last month that since the time of the New Deal, it has become customary for presidents and other public officials to be judged by their…
Meritocracy, Urban Design, and Culture: Observations from a Friend
PHOENIX, ARIZONA. (Note: this post has two pages, thanks to webmaster Lundy's new-and-improved FPR technology.) I am gratified by the many responses, here and elsewhere in the sphere, that were…
GPS, Security, and Freedom
Blairsville, GA. Recently my wife and I took a trip to New York City. To alleviate the trials of navigating an unfamiliar city, my sister offered to let us use…
Summertime Blues
Wichita, KS. I'm more than capable of putting on my localist and communitarian hat(s) during the fall, winter, and spring: I defend the public schools, speak out in favor of…
Science and the Spirit in an Age of Hostile Presumption
Washington, CT. Winter was a hard-nosed professional this season just past. It sunk its icy teeth in long and hard and mocked us with a one day January thaw that…
Blog Flu
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS.* Recently on this virtual stoop, questions have arisen about the "tone" of discussion generally, and particularly in the comment section (I refuse the neologism "combox" as an ugly stain…