by jpitney | Jul 4, 2020 | civic virtue, Religion, Slavery
Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852: Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of...
by jpitney | Jul 1, 2020 | civic virtue, Coronavirus
President George W. Bush: We were not meant to live apart from each other, especially in times of challenge. Our tools of compassion — a hug, gathering as people of faith or in friendship, caring for our family when they are ill — bring the opposite of the love we...
by jpitney | Jun 4, 2020 | Civic Education, civic virtue, History, Lincoln
Yuval Levin at National Review: A fuller sense of our own history must include a sense of the history of racial oppression in our country—a story which has not ended by any means. But it must also include a sense of the history of struggle against racial oppression, a...
by jpitney | Jun 3, 2020 | Civic Education, civic virtue, Civility, Coronavirus, Tocqueville, Volunteering
Daniel Stid at The Art of Association: Viewing civil society through the distorting lenses of our polarized and nationalized politics, and via media that are part of the fray, yields a bleak perspective. These lenses emphasize conflict and suggest what happens in...
by jpitney | Jun 1, 2020 | civic virtue, Civility
William Kristol at The Bulwark: In making his point, my friend recalled Rodney King’s famous statement from May 1, 1992, made as riots convulsed Los Angeles: People, I just want to say, you know, can we all just get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it,...
by jpitney | May 30, 2020 | civic virtue, Civility
The 1861 Inaugural: We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and...
