Articles 356
Life Under Compulsion: Play and No Play
In East Bangor, Pennsylvania (pop. 800), there’s a little diner named for the trolley that used to take people to the once bustling steel town of Bethlehem. The proprietors have…
A Radical Republican
We need more Richard Pettigrews in an age of Wall Street harlotry and Pax Americana war making.
The Localist and the Big Box Store
Hidden Springs Lane. Should a localist shop at Home Depot? Or Walmart? The question, as I’ve stated it, should taste slightly off, like milk that is just on the verge…
Place Isn’t Just Geographical
Rod Dreher’s new book, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, seems to have struck a chord among both sympathizers and critics of Wendell Berry. Ross Douthat, Alan Jacobs, Jake Meador,…
The Night of Susurrant Voices
God didn't put twelve months on the calendar so we could work them all.
The Limits of Place
Hidden Springs, VA. Recently Ross Douthat commented on Rod Dreher’s new book in a column devoted to the rising incidence of suicide and the problem of loneliness. In a follow-up…
The Coiled Hose
I spent the last eight months working on a dairy farm, and every morning after finishing milking and cleaning the stanchions, I would coil up the hoses in the corner…
Gatsby for the Millennials
Berwyn, PA. I was a little surprised, not too long ago, to hear a student mention that The Great Gatsby was her favorite book. "Because it is the only book you…
Life Under Compulsion: Noise
The child’s language is melodious. The words hide and protect themselves in the melody – the words that have come shyly out of the silence. They almost disappear again in…
On Not Knowing Nothing: Mastery and Expertise
I belong to a guild. As such, I'm recognized by its practitioners as a peer, a fellow, even, like them, a master. By this I do not mean anything remotely…
America Needs Another Bush?
Accusing President Obama of “caviling over chemical weapons in Syria,” The Economist insists that events in Syria are “exposing Mr Obama’s hubris,” his “overconfidence,” and revealing his foreign policy ineptitude.…
Harassed by the IRS? Don’t be Surprised.
Hidden Springs Lane. Americans have recently learned that certain groups seeking non-profit status were subjected to, ahem, "heightened scrutiny" by the IRS. It seems that groups that used words like…
Food Stamps and Krazy Glue
On a recent Monday morning, an officemate and I were discussing the current financial state—always a cheery subject on a Monday. Mark, a financial planner, said that many believe we…
Biopolitical Tyranny?
John Milbank has written a remarkable critique of gay marriage that points to the ways it will ultimately and immeasurably strengthen the modern liberal State. The theologian who launched "Radical…
On Buying Local Food, And Why
I decided some time ago that I wish to eat as little as possible from the “industrial” food chain; that is to say, I wish to buy little food from…
The Locale and Grace of Teaching
I’ve not yet decided if I’ve succumbed to despair (a sin) or prudence, but I no longer participate in any of the forums at my campus about online education, MOOCs,…
Dinner, Anyone?
In Dr. Mark Mitchell’s recent post on Front Porch Republic, “W[h]ither the Family Dinner?”, he asks the question, “Are family meals important?” My short answer is: yes. But why is it important? In…
What Then Must We Do?: Worker Ownership Redux
The following is an excerpt from from Gar Alperovitz's What Then Must We Do? (Chelsea Green, 2013) and is reprinted with permission of the publisher. Learn more about the book here. By the way, and…
Horse Burgers and the Lives of Others
If you could boil our global problems down to seven words, they might be these: we don’t see where stuff comes from. Most of us grew up staring at glowing…
Telling the Truth about Immigration
Berwyn, PA. Nobody wants to. Most politicians would rather appeal to platitudes about America as a "nation of immigrants" than confront their responsibility to attend to the common good of…
The Problem of Undertheorized Agrarianism in Most Actually Argued Localism
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] That's a terrible title for this post, I know. But hopefully it'll make sense, if you actually make it to the end. First of all,…
Unsolicited Advice for the Republican Party
Hidden Springs Lane. It is clear that the GOP is in disarray. The recent CPAC conference only served to highlight that the Republicans are bereft of ideas. Railing against “big…
The Pythagorean Temptation
Berwyn, PA. In his Degrees of Knowledge, Jacques Maritain argues that one central fault of the modern mind has been its propensity to think of mathematics rather than metaphysics as first…
Mark Mitchell’s Politics of Gratitude (Theoretical and Otherwise)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] To continue with the excellent discussion begun by R.J. Snell, Mark Mitchell's fine and thoughtful book is filled with important insights and challenges, which do…