Who killed the American Dream? David Leonhardt, a senior writer at The New York Times, picks up his magnifying glass and investigates in Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. Note the past tense in the title. In order to find the culprit, we must first learn about the deceased. What was the American Dream? As Leonhardt notes, while the range of definitions is vast, at its root, the American dream is about progress. In particular, he zeroes in on a “core part” of the dream, that children will lead better lives than their parents did. Leonhardt makes the definition … [Read More...] about Whither the American Dream?
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Stuck in the Middle With You
In 1944, Friedrich Hayek wrote in “Why the Worst Get on Top” in his The Road to Serfdom: It seems to be almost a law of human nature that it is easier for people to agree on a negative program—on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off—than on any positive […]
Battle Cry in the Culture War
Let’s start with a quick quiz. Name this book: The United States is in great peril because it has abandoned its Christian roots and is being taken over by people who are immersed in a humanistic worldview which is antithetical to God. The result will be a tyranny which will oppress Good Christians everywhere. Trick […]
Crafting a New Evangelical Imagination
“All great systems, ethical or political, attain their ascendancy over the minds of men by virtue of their appeal to the imagination; and when they cease to touch the chords of wonder and mystery and hope, their power is lost, and men look elsewhere for some set of principles by which they may be guided.”Russell […]
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The Personal is Not Political
“The personal is political” is easily one of the most pernicious claims made in the history of political thought. Rather impressively, it simultaneously degrades both political thought and personal life. Are you defined by your politics? Sadly, far too many people go off to college and are taught that their fundamental identity as a person […]
Capitalism, Christianity, and the Great Books
For those of you who like podcasts, I recently joined the moderators of The Open Door to talk about a recent article I wrote for Public Discourse. You can listen to the podcast here And, the article which was the basis for the discussion is here
The Weight of this Sad Time
Can it get any worse? How long has it been since you asked that question? An hour, a day, a week, a year? Personal tragedy. Family tragedy. Friend tragedy. National tragedy. International tragedy. They pile up at times and you ask if it could possibly get any worse. The Answer: Yes. Yes, it can. Cf. […]