Decadence ultimately entails the process of falling away from the vision that orders man's relation to the divine, to the community, to the self, to nature. In the Western context, it signifies a lessening of the hold on the imagination of all that inspires human beings to be devout. Through the ages the death of [...]
While slouching may not be sinful, it can create an atmosphere of disregard, carelessness, and sloth. It favors bad habits that may facilitate vice. Hence, people can combat these horrible consequences by living up to standards of propriety that favor effort and consideration in a well-ordered society. One great tragedy of radical individualism was the [...]
The American people have endured a dark age. But today they are choosing courage over comfort. Order over anarchy. Truth over technocracy. And in doing so, they are giving birth to a new moment: A chance to rebuild a republic where men are strong, women are cherished, children are protected, and God is honored. We [...]
To correct their superior, inferiors must invoke another superior—a superior superior. Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, or the golden rule, is an ideal of equality, as is the precept of loving your neighbor as yourself. In the highest view, we hope for humans to treat one another as equals. [...]
Timothy Carney’s "Alienated America" tackles a crucial question that too few policymakers and news commentators even bother asking anymore: What is at the root of America’s contemporary cultural and social malaise? The short answer, according to Mr. Carney, is the deterioration of civil society. Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Other Places Collapse, by [...]
The solution to the problem of modern elitism is not the elimination of leadership but its reformation—the cultivation of stewardship elitism that positions leaders as servants of civilization rather than its masters. In a recent essay for The Free Press titled "Our elites don't deserve this much hatred," economist Tyler Cowen makes a characteristic defense of [...]
The fact is that “unity” is not always good, and “division” is not always bad. Indeed, some unity is downright diabolical. There is, for instance, nothing more united than a mob. The mob mentality is nothing other and nothing less than toxic unity. When G.K. Chesterton first came to the United States and visited New [...]
American culture has an opportunity now for renewal through its people of faith. We are being called to care for one another with love. We are being called to live out our virtue in service. The American soul has withered, and awaits an infusion of the lifeblood of love. Whether or not we respond may [...]
Suddenly, a demographic winter is upon us. We’ve seen it coming for decades. However, the effects of this population implosion are now starting to be felt. Nation after nation report low birth rates and aging populations. No amount of monetary incentive is enough to change people’s minds—even in more traditional societies. Women and couples seem [...]
The challenge we face today is humanizing a Bureaucratic Regime, just as our ancestors humanized a German warrior regime. We’re in the position of the Apostle Paul, handcuffed to a Praetorian guard. As the Bubble grows more psychotic and inhumane, opportunities for evangelistic kindness and witness multiply exponentially. As we survey our emerging Bureaucratic Regime [...]
In "Pagan America," John Daniel Davidson argues that the minute the Christian order falls in America, the most barbarous acts and persecutions will occur. Then the Benedict Option will not be enough, as pagan America will never let Christians live in peace. Real Christians will have to do much more. Pagan America: The Decline of [...]
The upcoming presidential election will determine the next leader of the nation and representative of America to the world. Election Day offers the prospect for a new voice and a new option. The American Solidarity Party fits that description. Its principles and public policy are in quest for the common good. Its political approach, emphasizing [...]
We suffer from bifurcation and interior division because our souls are disordered. This is crippling to our souls, but it is also good. Why? It is only when we are deathly ill that we can finally come to see that we are in need of healing. The eminent political philosopher James V. Schall, S.J. has [...]
As we dispense with religious institutions, beliefs, and practices—as we dispense with God Himself in the ridiculous belief that we are enough on our own—we leave ourselves open to barbarism within and a more overt barbarism from without. Anyone who knows anything about the Judeo-Christian tradition (an increasingly small group, I know), is aware that [...]