About John Barnes

John Barnes writes sporadically from his home in the Rocky Mountains.

A Soldier’s Grandson

By |2022-06-05T16:42:30-05:00April 9th, 2018|Categories: Family, History, John Barnes, Timeless Essays, War, World War II|

Those soldiers gave my grandfather’s graveside service a gravity and dignity it would have lacked otherwise. They shared a bond with him that I can never understand, for I am a soldier’s grandson but not a soldier. A former coworker once referred to me as a “late adopter.” I suppose that’s true. Long after the [...]

Christmas Cheer

By |2014-12-10T10:45:07-06:00December 15th, 2012|Categories: Christmas, Gifts for Imaginative Conservatives, John Barnes|

A number of my fellow travelers have recommended books for Christmas gifts. Here are some ideas for gifts that will enhance the reading experience. Cigars. In the movie Crimson Tide, Gene Hackman’s character, the captain of a nuclear submarine, tells his executive officer (Denzel Washington) not to grow too fond of cigars because “they’re more expensive than drugs.” [...]

True Education Requires Imagination

By |2016-02-12T15:28:35-06:00November 27th, 2012|Categories: C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Education, Featured, Imagination|

Digory by Scott Dodge Flying on the back of Fledge (formerly known as Strawberry, the used up cab-pulling horse), on assignment from Aslan, over the newly-created land of Narnia, Digory said to Polly, “I wish we had someone to tell us what all those places are.” Polly responded, “I don’t suppose they’re anywhere [...]

The Line from Runnymede to Philadelphia

By |2021-09-26T10:21:40-05:00November 6th, 2012|Categories: Audio/Video, Economics, Europe, John Barnes, Political Economy, Politics|

What single virtue should you look for in a legislator? Only this: That he takes seriously his oath of office; that when he promises to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies domestic and foreign, he really means it; that he has an appreciation, a modesty, a humility to recognize that he [...]

R.A. Lafferty: The Sack of Rome

By |2016-11-26T09:52:14-06:00May 23rd, 2012|Categories: John Barnes, Quotation, Rome|

Brad Birzer’s article A New Dark Age mentioned the 410 sack of Rome by the Visigoths, the event that prompted St. Augustine to pen City of God. Brad’s article brought to mind the closing passage from one of my favorite works of history: by R.A. Lafferty “There is a term placed on everything, even the world. [...]

Obama Contra Ecclesia

By |2016-08-03T10:37:36-05:00February 23rd, 2012|Categories: Catholicism, Christendom, John Barnes, Politics|

As the federal government draws ever nearer to the precipice of insolvency, the ability of the powers-that-be to purchase political support in an election year becomes increasingly difficult. Instead, our rulers look to the “freebies” — policy moves that, while far-reaching, cost the public treasury little (at least directly or immediately). This is just as [...]

‘Merciful towards the absurd’: Remembering William F. Buckley Jr.

By |2013-12-30T08:55:47-06:00February 4th, 2012|Categories: Catholicism, John Barnes, William F. Buckley Jr.|

Bill Buckley in his study.Photo courtesy of the New York Times. I married a woman far more organized than I am. Only three months into our nuptials, I’m still reeling from the reorganization my (our) residence is undergoing now that she lives here, too. It’s becoming a home rather than merely a functional [...]

Whittaker Chambers: Reverence and Awe

By |2016-11-26T09:52:18-06:00February 2nd, 2012|Categories: John Barnes, Quotation|Tags: |

Spending time at the state capitol recently reminded me just how easily men are misled into embracing ideologies of every sort, and how much damage is done to our civilization as a result. The experience prompted me to open my Whittaker Chambers book from college — Witness — and thumb through to one of my favorite parts: His [...]

Saint Isaac the Syrian: Christmas Night

By |2019-12-19T11:06:16-06:00December 24th, 2011|Categories: Christmas, John Barnes, Quotation|

[Christmas] night bestowed peace on the whole world; so, let no one threaten; this is the night of the Most Gentle One, let no one be cruel; this is the night of the most Humble One, let no one be proud…. Today the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake; so, the rich one, invite the [...]

A Conservatism of Hope: Response from the trenches

By |2015-05-19T23:16:02-05:00October 20th, 2011|Categories: Cicero, Classics, Conservatism, John Barnes, Politics, Russell Kirk|

A response to “A Conservatism of Hope? Still?” “The greatest is love,” we are told. “The most difficult is hope,” we could also say. The view from the public policy world is increasingly grim, I confess.  Mark Steyn, commenting on the sad ensemble constituting the GOP presidential field, captured the problem recently: “It’s very depressing [...]

Books that Make Us Human: Matthew White

By |2014-01-09T16:26:19-06:00September 16th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Film|

by Matthew White Moby Dick, by Herman Melville: A vast and sprawling narrative with a tightly wound core. As fine a cautionary tale as I’ve ever read. Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: The author Jim Harrison remarked to me that he was told once to read this book so he might never be lonely, for [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2022-08-29T17:48:35-05:00September 14th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, John Barnes|

Here are “All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren, “Jayber Crow” by Wendell Berry, and several other recommendations for Imaginative Conservatives, in no particular order. The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene. I discovered this gem while on retreat at a Trappist monastery in Oregon. At the time I was discerning priesthood, so [...]

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