by jpitney | Oct 18, 2020 | civic virtue, Civility, Deliberation
David French on the unexpected rewards of being politically homeless: First, it liberates you from uncomfortable and destructive associations and arguments. While the Bible promises Christians that they’ll face challenges and sometimes-fierce opposition in their...
by jpitney | Sep 29, 2020 | Character, Civic Education, civic virtue
Daniel Stid at The Art of Association: We need some hope and a sense of how we might regain our footing as citizens to renew the world’s oldest democracy. We can find them in a recent report from the American Academy of Arts and Science’s Commission on...
by jpitney | Sep 6, 2020 | civic virtue, Crime
David French: We know the obligation of the government, but what about the obligation of the citizen? Here’s where we turn to Thomas Jefferson’s rival, John Adams. And Adams gives us the second quote that frames our constitutional republic. Writing to the...
by jpitney | Jul 9, 2020 | civic virtue, Coronavirus, Tocqueville
Nicholas Romanow, who just became a citizen, writes at The Bulwark: The political philosophers, historians, and sociologists who argue that a kind of rugged individualism is at the heart of the American character aren’t entirely wrong, but the familiar caricature of...
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...
