I am increasingly persuaded that the great divide in this country between right and left comes down to a divide between those on the right who think that the United States has essentially been a force for good in the world and those on the left who think this country has essentially been a force [...]
The real problem with the technocratic Charles Murray is his zeal for the pernicious “American creed” of radical individualism. Facing Reality: Two Truths About Race In America, by Charles Murray (168 pages, Encounter Books, 2021) Viewed from the right, Charles Murray is an almost tragic figure. A libertarian-leaning proponent of America as the first “proposition [...]
With the publication of "Homo Americanus," author Zbigniew Janowski has tentatively entered the dissidents' camp, and does so by following in the footsteps of Southern agrarian professor Mel Bradford, who warned us several decades ago about “the heresy of Equality." Homo Americanus: The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy in America, by Zbigniew Janowski (255 pages, St [...]
One of the administrators at my school recently asked faculty to contribute a “solidarity statement.” The email specified what was being sought: For your statement, we’re asking you to share how you personally will engage in the work of creating an inclusive and equitable campus community that truly values all. What, specifically, will you do [...]
The principal basis of the reparations, systemic racism, and Black Lives Matter policy agenda has been the planned and deliberate ignoring of the federal constitution (“any person”) and federal civil rights laws (“no person”), both of which create and guarantee the rights of individuals against racial discrimination by private and public institutions and programs. Now, [...]
The primary political problem to be addressed in a liberal democracy is how to ensure that a standing military does not become dangerous to the liberties of those they are to protect, especially guarding against the threat of military coups. The question is of ancient pedigree and caused much debate during the framing of the [...]
Fairness is an acknowledgement of just desserts, and therefore implies equality in dealings with similarly entitled partners. So it is indeed equality adjusted to circumstances that I desire. Thus there is an intimation that equality will come into play when justice is administered communally. Regarding the title: 1. The question mark expresses a genuine perplexity [...]
We seem to be up to our ears in race-based policies and race-based thinking. As a result, we seem to be further away than ever from Martin Luther King’s goal of a color-blind society. If our government won’t behave as Dr. King hoped it would, maybe the answer is for each of us to act [...]
American democracy has proven to be a success in its representation of interests but a failure in cultivating citizenship; it has protected some civil liberties while allowing others to erode away. One lesson we can draw from its history of successes and failures is this: For a republic to succeed, institutions are not enough; civic [...]
Richard Henry Dana, Sr. was acutely conscious that he was a man out-of-step with the antebellum ethos, an American High Tory in an era of rising democracy. Yet Dana was not some grouchy obsolete curmudgeon, and his withering critiques of America often hit their mark, exposing the weaknesses of liberty, democracy, and equality and bullishly [...]
The Marxists advocate Pride and don’t believe in loving their neighbors but in destroying their enemies. They insist that without justice, there will be no peace, but they forget that there will be no justice without love. Without love we have nothing but the systemic pride which rules the world with the spirit of “might [...]
Critical theory bulldozes all the complexities of history, education, and communities into a world of good guys and bad guys, oppressors and oppressed. And in doing so, it makes it nearly impossible to deal with the actual issues of denied opportunities, prejudiced expectations, and instances of real racism that need to be addressed. Most Americans [...]
The Judeo-Christian heritage of America can be felt in her sociocultural being. Our moral laws were drawn with respect to protecting our rights, and our faith inspires us to be proactive with respect for others. This is where love counts—the ultimate expression of individualism, the greatest act of human free will. One of the perennial [...]
Professor Agnes Callard is admirable in her unwillingness to cancel Aristotle. In light of recent events, she might find his views are not so much prejudiced as they are realistic, and, on that note, timeless, unlike the egalitarian utopias which liberals are always chasing. The philosopher had a disposition toward the world around him which [...]