It was Thomas Jefferson and America’s founding generation that set culture on a new course when they declared that all human beings had the inalienable right to the “pursuit of happiness.” It has been said that that phrase in the Declaration of Independence has done more to shape the sensibilities of the modern age than [...]
Obligatory Navel-Gazing This summer, I’ve spent far more time with self-professed libertarians than I have with self-professed conservatives. Usually, it’s about 50-50, but this summer has been much more like 70-30. I’ve especially been influenced–directly and in person–by fine folks such as Larry Reed, Jim Otteson, Ed Lopez, Carl Oberg, and Ben Stafford. The former [...]
In the cultural wasteland of the ’70s, where peace and love had degenerated into sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, precious few lights beckoned to youth who met license, pornography, and drugs everywhere. Yet Providence did not wholly abandon us. From time to time, I remember some of those suggestions of a more beautiful life [...]
“I place economy among the first and most important virtues and public debt as the greatest dangers to be feared … We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our choice between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude … The same prudence which in private life would forbid [...]
After a long week filled with many joys and frustrations, in the quiet hours of Friday’s eventide I sat in the candle-lit nave of my parish here in an obscure corner of Washington state. Weary and eager to close my eyes for sleep, I thumbed through the Roman breviary and came across a selection from [...]