As I write, judging by the saturation coverage of all the major media outlets, the primary consideration on the minds of the world’s popular culture is the plan for the memorial service for Michael Jackson. I will spare you my commentary on the life and career of this obviously very gifted, but sad and tragic figure, […]
America the Fragile Idea
It’s Independence Day and I’m feeling more than usually patriotic. This and other inducements have prompted me to revisit one of my old themes–the American idea. Another inducement was David Broder’s article this week in which he poses the question, “is this fragile idea called America headed for trouble?”. He wrote the article in response […]
Charity and Liberalism
In a recent sermon delivered by Harvey C. Mansfield at Appleton Chapel in Memorial Church, Harvard University, we are reminded of the admonition of St. Thomas Aquinas that charity is the chief of the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity and that charity is the common form of all the virtues because all depend […]
Speaking of Divides…
Can you think of a wider one than exists between the leadership of our elite colleges and universities and the military culture, as evidenced by the current controversy over the appearance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran at Columbia University? Columbia’s President Lee Bollinger just doesn’t get it. He would like us to believe that […]
The New Cultural Divide
Some years ago (June 2000), I wrote about the demise of the “warrior class” in America and the degree to which the military experience and the commitment to military service have been diluted in America’s leadership class. To me, this is a troubling development, because I have always believed, particularly since the time of my […]
More Election Stakes to Ponder — A Cultural Seminar
The recent Supreme Court decision upholding the federal ban of partial birth abortion should serve as a reminder of the stakes in the next election. Other than the obvious questions of war and peace that confront us, I can’t think of a more important consideration. This is particularly so if you take time to read […]
Defining the Enemy
As we all gather around the tube each morning to get our daily fix on the world according to Rosie O’Donnell on The View, many of us tend to laugh off her brand of celebrity talk show hyperventilation as grandstanding for ratings or, at worst, the innocent rantings of the lunatic leftist fringe. But when […]
It’s All about Celebrity
Media critic Brent Bozell calls it the “celebrity asylum”, and that’s a pretty apt description, for in this society increasingly driven by various degrees of voyeurism, the constant 24/7 media obsession with stories on the likes of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears feeds an audience obviously fixated on lifestyles and behavior the attraction to […]
Whither Europe? II: “The Cube” Revisited in Germany
In an earlier issue lamenting Europe’s severe crisis of confidence, I noted the premise outlined by George Weigel’s great book, The Cube and the Cathedral, which is that, ultimately, the underlying constitutional debate in Europe must answer the following question: Is it possible to construct and sustain a democratic political community absent the transcendental moral […]
New Orleans after Katrina—the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
After one week of the horror of this massive human disaster, all the returns are not yet in, but here are my immediate thoughts: The Good—As usual, the innate and almost unlimited capacity of the American people for generosity and compassion in time of human need, as well as the resolve and courage of the […]
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