John Barnes

A Soldier’s Grandson

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... Today’s offering in our Timeless Essay series affords our...

A Soldier’s Grandson

A former coworker once referred to me as a "late adopter." I suppose that's true. Long after the popularity of the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers" crested, my wife and I started watching it. Not long after we...

Christmas Cheer

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...

Principles, Pragmatism, and Voting for President in 2012

Winston, you have lived through far more elections than I, so I have no doubt your insight is born of experience and the reflections of a keen mind. But I have to respectfully disagree...

The Line from Runnymede to Philadelphia

Last month I had the privilege of meeting and hearing Daniel Hannan, a member of the European Parliament from Southeast England. He spoke to a crowd of 1,100 folks in Seattle, with...

R.A. Lafferty: The Sack of 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...

Obama Contra Ecclesia

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...

‘Merciful towards the absurd’: Remembering 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...

Whittaker Chambers: Reverence and Awe

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...

Saint Isaac the Syrian: Christmas Night

by St. Isaac the Syrian 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...

A Conservatism of Hope: Response from the trenches

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...

Debt and the Slow Death of Federalism

One of the more amusing parts of my job is thinking of all the different ways I can explain to people what I do. “I work for a public policy think tank” usually causes eyes to glaze...

Books that Make Us Human: John Barnes

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 it had a...

Christian Discipleship and the ‘End Times’

I knew one of my Hillsdale professors didn’t take himself as seriously as he let on when he insisted that Monty Python is indispensable for looking at history. Amidst all the claptrap about prophecies of apocalypse and collapse, this clip from Life of Brian comes to mind: