Articles 356
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…
A Prophet of Goodness: Review of Mark T. Mitchell’s The Politics of Gratitude: Scale, Place and Community in a Global Age
At my worst moments, I succumb to thinking that we have become utterly trite, absorbed by ephemera, thin of character, quick but scattered of intellect, weak of will, and just…
Capital Offense
Washington, DC I’ve been spending my semester in exile in our nation’s capital. My apartment is in Arlington, on a ridge overlooking the city. From that spot I have a…
From the Trinity Capital
Beyond the purple velvet drapes, the skeins of billowed gossamer, my hotel window looks down on the back gates of Trinity College. Up three floors and pierced by a late…
A Long Repentance: A Decade of Turning Away from (a Part of) the American Dream
Including “repentance” in this title might lead you to believe that it is a theological reflection of some kind. After all, repentance is a religious word, is it not? And…
Ruthie Leming’s (and Rod Dreher’s) Little Way
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Rod Dreher's 2006 manifesto, Crunchy Cons, was an inspiration (and provocation) to many, on both the left and the right. It wasn't that the book…
U.S. ‘Intervention’ in Syria Unlawful
Proponents of Syria “intervention” did not seem to notice any irony as Secretary of State John Kerry, on the one hand, chastened Iraq for letting Iran use its airspace to…
Our Slippery Slope into the Age of “Big Love”
Berwyn, PA. Many of us will recall the criticism Rick Santorum endured regarding this passage from a 2003 interview: And if the Supreme Court says that you have the right…
Eating Local–Or Local Enough
If I earn ten pennies in heaven for being a local food supplier, do I get five for being regional?
Second-Hand Sex
Hillsdale, Michigan. Perhaps it is a function of having been reared by two alums of Bob Jones University -- where, let's be clear, I did NOT go -- but I…
Whither the Public Library?
Despite constant speculation about public libraries’ “relevan[ce] in the digital age,” and serious budget cuts caused by the recent recession, the American public library is not in crisis. Local governments…
Piers Sits Ryan in the Corner
Ryan Anderson may be the most courageous person in America. Who would willingly place himself in the company of Piers Morgan and Suze Orman for the sole purpose of being…
The Case for Getting Married Young
Hidden Springs Lane. A couple months before my wife and I were married, a friend ask me "why do you want to get married so young?" My fiance and I…
Democracy Is A Racket
War and Democracy by Paul Gottfried Arktos Media Ltd 170 pp., $21.00 In this slender volume Paul Gottfried addresses everything from the influence of ancient Greek thought on Oswald…
In Defense of President Obama’s Syria Policy
Myriad calls have been made for intervention in Syria. President Obama has been blamed with everything from “feeble paralysis most foul” to subcontracting “foreign policy to the likes of Qatar”…
Deleting the Individual: Big Data and Presidential Campaigns
The following is an excerpt from David Masciotra's new book, Against Traffic: Essays on Politics and Identity. For sale exclusively at Amazon. Looking back over the 2012 Presidential Election, it…
Going Home Again? Not Likely.
If I am correct, it seems there is a certain kind of arch-typical narrative that has become quite popular here at FPR, and in some sense, emblematic of its defense…
The Mouse with Tusks: Speech, Power, Perversity
Earlier this week, Terry Gross interviewed Emily Anthes, author of Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts, on recent development in bioengineering, including radio controlled insects, pigs which…
On the Localism of the Spheres
I have a friend who is a cloistered Trappist monk and his current obsession is the ‘outer’ and decidedly non-sedentary goal of running a marathon (on the back forty of…
Life Under Compulsion: Music and the Itch
Like dew on the gowan lying Is the fa’ o’ her fairy feet; Like winds in summer sighing, Her voice is low and sweet. Her voice is low and sweet,…
Filibustering the Filibuster
Washington, Connecticut. As I watched Senator Rand Paul slurp his dripping candy bar, a sinking feeling set in. This does not diminish his determined stance but one should rightly be…
Catholic Education Today: Scientiam Viarum Tuarum Nolumus
About a month ago I happened upon a copy of The Concord, student newspaper of Bellarmine University. In particular my eye was caught by a letter to the editor whereby…
Something About Which Leftists, Localists, and Libertarians (But Probably Not Philosophical Liberals) Ought to Agree
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA--something that he did in order to "draw attention to…
What Does the Boss Really Do? Business Education and the Liberal Arts
An address given to the Ciceronian Society at Mount St. Mary's University, March 3. At the start of each semester, I ask my MBA students, “What are you here for?…