In our world of recriminating hatreds—in which we desire more to label those we don’t like as sexist, imperialist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, and, simultaneously, mark ourselves as victims—we often forget some important historical truths. Here’s one we conveniently ignore, dismiss, or mock: Nothing in the world has brought about more equality and justice than has [...]
In America today, we are living in a toxic political climate that is the product of a very dangerous combination: Our rulers lack the learning necessary to ask the kinds of deep and fundamental questions that leaders and lawgivers ought to make a habit of pondering, while our people rebelliously scrutinize all orthodoxies and impose [...]
Just as in the case of the head of a household, the heads of localities and nations must direct their minds first and foremost toward the common good of some specific, limited group of people. Integralism and the Common Good, Volume One: Family, City, and State, edited by Edmund Waldstein & Peter Kwasniewski (356 pages, [...]
Man needs ethos in order to be himself. Ethos, however, requires belief in creation and immortality. The impossibility of a human existence cut off from this is indirect proof for the truth of the Christian faith and its hope. Without the glad tidings of faith, mankind cannot endure in the long run. This lecture was [...]
If culture is simply a matter of private enthusiasms and hobbies, of small details and specialties, then what of a common culture? What about the collective project and shared sense of purpose that built Western civilization? “The expert takes a little subject for his province, and remains a provincial for the rest of his life.”—Jacques [...]
My simple suggestion for a Christmas gift to a young person is a fountain pen with beautiful ink. Perhaps it is wishful thinking to believe that those who receive so much instant gratification on their devices would embrace this soulful yet slow instrument of beauty. But who knows? They might be struck by the wonder [...]
The study of history in public schools should be conducted with an eye to “fostering good citizenship.” But it should do more than that. It should foster good human beings—human beings with broad minds and contemplative souls who appreciate the power of ideas. “If history be, in truth, the self consciousness of humanity, the ‘self [...]
Architecture exists all around us all the time. The consequence of bad architecture, therefore, is to make us feel less at home, as if the buildings glare at us as we go about our business, making an urban space into a place where no one feels welcome. So, what are the guiding principles of ‘good’ [...]
Is civilization worth defending? Should we aim to conform to it so that we can be considered civilized? Should we aim to bring our children up according to its norms so that they can also be considered civilized? Should we try to make our country and our world as civilized as possible? The chances are [...]
A greeting is an act of humility and a gesture of justice, in which we give respect and honor due to others for who they are. Indeed, greetings constitute the fragrant perfume of a Christian civilization in which these things are valued. We live in brutal times without transitions. Everything must be instant and rushed, [...]
The evident chaos of the contemporary “cancel culture”—which is coming to resemble something like a cyber version of The Terror in late 18th-century France during which the revolutionaries began cutting off even their own heads—is due to an abuse of language. There is a profound sort of cultural suicide occurring in this phenomenon. We are [...]
Teaching at a time when civilization is in such obvious disarray and such marked decline imposes even more stringent and pressing obligations on the teacher. I have reached the conclusion that what American teachers must do is really very basic: Teach young men and women how to read and write, how to imagine beyond themselves, [...]
C.S. Lewis wrote prophetically about the Abolition of Man. We are witnessing its literal fulfillment. If history unfolds in 500-year epochs, then we are on the cusp of a new epoch. What does it hold for humanity? I have not been the only one to recognize that the last five hundred years have been an [...]
As we enter 2022, we must face a “not-normal” world that shows no signs of returning to order. Having the right “improvise-and-dare” attitude will enable us to survive. The beginning of the New Year should be a time of reflection and resolution. It is a turning point to consider where we have erred during the [...]