Those Who Commute Deserve a Salute by James Bruce

Those Who Commute Deserve a Salute by James Bruce

That includes the small town in Arkansas where I live. I walk to work, which isn’t without hazards. One time I was bitten by a duck overeager (in my estimation) to protect its nest. But, overall, it’s wonderful. Yet I know how much I depend on you, the big-city commuters: You set up my retirement account, approved my mortgage application, and routed my new shirt from a distribution center to my doorstep. So thank you—and have a safe trip home.

Sweet shout-out to the commuters.

Our War against Memory by Victor Davis Hanson

Our War against Memory by Victor Davis Hanson

The strangest paradox in the current epidemic of abolitio memoriae is that our moral censors believe in ethical absolutism and claim enough superior virtue to apply it clumsily across the ages — without a clue that they fall short of their own moral pretensions, and that one day their own icons are as likely be stoned as the icons of others are now apt to be torn down by black-mask-wearing avengers.

Another insightful and thoughtful piece from VDH.

Chicago Vandals Burn Century-Old Bust Of Abraham Lincoln by D.C. McAllister

Chicago Vandals Burn Century-Old Bust Of Abraham Lincoln by D.C. McAllister

Judge him as you will for this, but until you’ve walked in a man’s shoes, I’d advise you to keep silent. Imposing modern sentiments on historical figures, expecting them to act like perfect characters in a book instead of the flawed human beings they were, is never wise.

We need to be careful as we seek to destroy figures from the past. Our own sins will find us out.

A Time to Scatter Stones and a Time to Gather Stones Together by Michael Ward

A Time to Scatter Stones and a Time to Gather Stones Together by Michael Ward

Neither Peter nor Paul was an end in himself. Each was a servant of Christ. The two pointed to the One, the unity beyond themselves. And that greater unity, that final or ultimate re-ligamenting, is why it’s so fitting that Hillsdale’s new chapel will be known as Christ Chapel, for Christ is the one in whom “all things hold together” [Colossians 1:17], both the tightening and the loosening, both the rock and the rocking.

Such a beautiful analysis when breaking ground for the new Christ Chapel at Hillsdale. So insightful and full of wisdom.

19 Is the New 60 by Lenore Skenazy

19 Is the New 60 by Lenore Skenazy

Correlation isn’t causation, but Mr. Gray makes a persuasive casethat kids lose their “locus of control” when adults take over more of their time—driving them, teaching them, watching them. But during free play, the kids make the rules and decisions. There’s a strong connection between happiness and feeling in control of life.

Great idea to keep schools open until 6:00 to allow a safe place for kids to run around and be kids!!

Are Conservatives Really Just Liberals? by Elliot Kaufman

Are Conservatives Really Just Liberals? by Elliot Kaufman

Behind every conservative embrace of liberalism, there is a prior and pre-liberal commitment. We are for liberal free speech, but with a prior commitment to decency. We support liberal democracy, but with a prior commitment to justice, not just conflict de-escalation. We praise liberal education, but to save it from undermining itself with skepticism, we need a prior commitment to Truth.

Fantastic defense of true Conservatism!

It’s Time For Millennials To Rise And Claim Their Inheritance by Ben Domenech

It’s Time For Millennials To Rise And Claim Their Inheritance by Ben Domenech

This is an American inheritance, but it is not a birthright. It must be claimed. And it is an open question whether the children of the children of those who rescued the old world will claim it. Today they are the most risk-averse generation in the history of this new world. The optimism of their youth has faded into a crippling fear of failure. The easy opportunities they were promised by their baby boomer matriarchy have turned out to be vapor. Their soma is better, and the lure of a lifetime spent as a student, a renter, an uncommitted ironist are tempting indeed. Just be sure to only Instagram your successes.

Prescient take on today's generation.

We All Need to Admit that America Has a Tattoo Problem by Mark Hemingway

We All Need to Admit that America Has a Tattoo Problem by Mark Hemingway

Along these lines, I refuse to believe even a sizable percentage of tattoos have been worthy decisions. For some select people, maybe tattoos are small part of their grand plan to live life to the fullest. But the vast majority of people should be encouraged to lead exciting and meaningful lives without needing to, in some cases literally, tattoo their personal vanity and insecurity right on their forehead. Fortunately, for now forehead tattoos still make you a bit of a pariah—after all, even the Air Force still has some standards.

My thoughts exactly!

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? by Jean M. Twenge

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? by Jean M. Twenge

Psychologically, however, they are more vulnerable than Millennials were: Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011. It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones.

This the voice of one crying the wilderness. Will she be heard?

What if the South had won the Civil War? 4 sci-fi scenarios for HBO's 'Confederate' by Allen C. Guelzo

What if the South had won the Civil War? 4 sci-fi scenarios for HBO's 'Confederate' by Allen C. Guelzo

The Confederate government centralized political authority in ways that made a hash of states’ rights, nationalized industries in ways historians have compared to “state socialism,” and imposed the first compulsory national draft in American history. If Benioff and Weiss are successful in creating an alternative world in Confederate, it will shock us fully as much as Game of Thrones has — not for how much of the Confederate future we avoided, but how little.

I read a book on Lincoln by this author that was given to me at a Hillsdale conference. So to see his name here, I definitely give him credibility. Very interesting take on who actually won the Civil War.

Our Cultural Waterloo by Carl R. Trueman

Our Cultural Waterloo by Carl R. Trueman

In such a world, arguments, even irrefutable arguments, will not suffice. We need something more comprehensive, something to capture imaginations. We need a philosophy of undergraduate education that offers visions of beauty, that connects the fields of knowledge our modern world has torn apart and isolated, and that speaks to the human desire for meaning.

Somehow, we need to connect with the next generation or risk losing so much.