From early in our history, Americans have been proud of being a “meritocracy.” Anyone, we claim, can rise to the heights of our society through brains, effort, and perseverance. And it certainly is true that we have no traditional, inherited aristocracy. But what is the “merit” that it takes to succeed in America today, and [...]
Lacking a genuine, common mind concerning the nature of virtue and the requirements for good reputation, auxiliary precautions like our Constitution’s checks and balances no longer will suffice to protect our constitutional order. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. [...]
I am not terribly accustomed to attending bilingual masses. I have avoided them rather religiously (sorry) ever since my wife and I went to a Spanish-English mass on Ash Wednesday when she was very pregnant. After well over an hour and a half of hearing each part of the mass said in one language, then repeated [...]
It has been a few weeks since Denmark banned Jewish and Muslim butchers from obeying the dictates of their religions in conducting their business. There was a bit of controversy at the time, mostly arising from a Danish government minister’s comment that “animal rights come before religion.” As with most moves against religious freedom, however, [...]
So, the Obama Administration has decided not to deport the Romeike family after all. You may recall that the Romeikes are the Christian family from Germany that sought to homeschool their children in their homeland. The German government sent the equivalent of a SWAT team to “save” the Romeike children from the horrors of Christian [...]
For good or ill, when Scottish-born actor Sean Connery speaks, people still listen. And Mr. Connery recently spoke out, urging residents of his place of birth (he fled for tax reasons many years ago) to vote for independence from the United Kingdom in a referendum on the question this coming September. That referendum, put forward [...]
Constitutional Government and Democracy by Carl J. Friedrich (Little, Brown and co. 1941) Designing Democracy: What Constitutions Do by Cass R. Sunstein What a difference a few decades can make—even or perhaps especially among “progressives” at Harvard. A useful case in point is provided by one of the current “demigods,” Cass Sunstein, who seems to infest every aspect [...]
There is an old saying, that if Democrats were to propose burning down the White House Republicans would counter with a plan that would burn it down “better” for half the price, though it would take half again as long to accomplish. I have been reminded of this saying repeatedly over the past several weeks as [...]
Christians and Catholics, in particular, often have been on the front lines of battles supporting the rights and dignity of immigrants. From the “no Irish allowed” signs so common on the streets of nineteenth century America to opposition to immigrants from Southern Europe, the arrival of newcomers to this nation has occasioned discomfort and, sadly, [...]
There are many good things to say about Disney’s massively popular movie, Frozen. One of its more refreshing plot twists concerns the heroine’s saving the day through an act of sacrifice for true love—for her sister. Those who expect to read, now, praise for some feminist attempt to show how a strong female character can dispense [...]
In most cases the only effective way we can hope to get a handle on that which plagues our public life is if our representatives choose to either ban the problematic behavior (e.g., smoking in public) or regulate it (e.g., ensuring Wall Street will not again take risks that will lead to taxpayer bailouts)—which is [...]
Can public education in the United States be saved? Given the stranglehold of teachers’ unions over school districts and state legislatures, the constant meddling of an ideologically motivated federal Education Department, the sheer weight of bureaucracy, and the commitment to mediocrity? Perhaps not. But we all should keep in mind that things could be far [...]
Americans pride themselves on their independence, or “rugged individualism,” if you prefer. In politics this often has meant an attraction to the “outsider” who will “shake things up” in Washington by “breaking gridlock” and getting legislators from across the political spectrum to act according to common sense and the public interest. The actual political results [...]
With the film trilogy “The Hobbit,” Peter Jackson returned to Middle Earth with less respect to some of the best “material” ever written. The results are rather awful. There must be something about New Zealand that brings out the megalomania in movie makers. It recently was announced that James Cameron, that titan of trite who brought [...]