The Stump 340

It’s true that we don’t yet have a colony on Mars. But countless people are living very ordinary lives and doing very ordinary things that are true, good, and beautiful.

Clay County, MO. At first blush, independent interdependence may seem an oxymoron. Yet people exercise a kind of balance between their need for autonomy and their need for what others…

One need not support every economic prescription of the distributists or Lincoln. Each, however, presents certain principles that we can use to orient our economic thinking in the era of…

For those tired of the fake news and play hate, who are convinced by Austin and their own better natures that accomplishing something better is actually still possible within the…

What was on display in the halftime show was not a celebration of sexuality or empowerment for women. It was an elevation of instinct.

More interesting than the big-name hits and misses, though, are the everyday but often extraordinary people that she meets along the way. Some are firmly in the Trump camp; some…

If it keeps us from flying at each other’s throats, I’ll take kindness every time. But if we seek more than survival, kindness is just the beginning.

Protestants and American Conservatism reveals a capacious knowledge of American religious history. As skeptics of the liberal order slowly work out a positive vision for the republic, they now know…

I’m not asking what candidate you support. What I am asking you to consider is what does your vote constitute? This question was spurred by Jeff Bilbro’s thought-provoking essay here…

The 2020 presidential election cycle has been in full swing for months now, and we are still almost a year away from casting our actual ballots. We justify this colossal…

Using money to measure a person’s worth is a product of an early version of the digital mindset that attempts to quantify all aspects of life.

An appreciation for labor and the cycle of nature is not itself enough for sustainable human dwelling. We also need a re-appreciation of the durability and independence of the works…

The failure to distinguish between art and beauty has caused much confusion. Art and beauty have two different but overlapping trajectories–one towards union and the other towards transcendent reality.

Disenthralling ourselves from the past is an American tradition, and gaining a clear-eyed vision of the flaws and achievements of previous generations is itself part of our heritage.

The Wilderness calls forth the bond of community, labor, and leisure. It calls forth the best in humanity, so long as humans understand their relationship to the Wilderness.

Both Dreher’s and Deneen’s projects impel vital questions: how can the Faith be preserved, and how can we protect ourselves from the progressive strain of liberalism? Perhaps a synthesis of…

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Paul Schrader, the famed screenwriter and director, does not make subtle films. His latest movie, First Reformed--the story of a depressed, emotionally exhausted, and ultimately…

By seeking to protect and restore natural beauty, create lovely urban design, bring art into our communities and support local sustainable agriculture and healthy fish and wildlife populations, we can…

Yuval Levin recently highlighted right and leftwing critiques of capitalism in National Review’s May issue. Many of these critiques, he says, are serious and should not be ignored. “For the…

True charity draws all people, each one gifted and broken, into an interdependent community.

Here’s the irony: a growing number of conservatives realize that it will require the assistance of the State to correct many of the problems that have been created by the…

In my first essay here at Front Porch Republic, I wrote about the idea that creation-friendly agriculture is not about going back to old fashioned ways, but is actually quite…

For our elites, democratic values and grand political projects go hand in hand.  Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg discussed the importance of democracy in adjudicating social tradeoffs.  Zuckerberg has also recently called…

What Americans Want in Cities What makes a good city? I’ve been thinking a lot about this. What makes for a city people are happy living in, and want to…