David Barton is wrong. And so are the godless constitutionalists. Read more
David Barton is wrong. And so are the godless constitutionalists. Read more
A Note from John Mark N. Reynolds: Christians in the academy disagree on many things, but nearly universally reject the historical analysis of David Barton. This is not because they are liberal (though some are) as many of his critics are very conservative politically. It also is not because the “guild” is protecting anything: good high school teachers who compare what Barton claims to the source material one can Google are disappointed in his work. Barton is, at the very... Read more
There is value to child-like wonder, but little in childish anger. If you think children are perfect as they are, you have not taught school. Kids can be cruel and that is why we educate them. Good teachers help kids make better choices. One better choice is being kind, charity in understanding other people, and not spending time looking for meaningless weaknesses or foibles on “the other team”. You know the kind of childishness: “He said ‘ass’ . . .... Read more
Imagine living a life where being brave and surviving the Titanic disaster was not your best moment. Charles Herbert Lightoller has been a role model all my life. Walter Lord gave us A Night to Remember somewhere in primary school and I never looked backwards. Mr. Lightoller is a hero. He was shipwrecked on a deserted island and survived. Lightoller was the officer who lived to tell about the Titanic, even though he went down with the ship. He helped destroy... Read more
Do not be discouraged. Good people abound. Here is a shout out to Lyston who took time for an entire week to talk with us, chat about ideas, and generally serve as the very model of modern waitstaff. We met Lyston on our Carnival Cruise when he came to serve our table. We left every meal impressed with his commitment to service and integrity. He was constantly pointing to the hard work of others and expanding our knowledge of the... Read more
Frank Capra taught me how to be the richest man in town. Read more
The great thing about a cruise is meeting people . . . at one point in the day a nice lady from New Jersey helped us with sunscreen. She did not allow us to pay her for the copious amount we used to protect our too-much-time-inside skin. Then there was the older (even by our standards!) couple reading thick novels together in the lounge. We heard them discuss their day in a good Southern drawl, while another couple held hands... Read more
When a boy I wrote a very bad poem that began: “Cry for an age without romance, weep for Prometheus unchained . . .” Whatever the last bit meant, I felt sad, morose even, and the poem helped. The sad thing is that I made the mistake of showing this outpouring of childhood passion to an actual poet. He was kind, but blunt: no good. As a kid, I recall sitting in the woods and singing folk songs while playing... Read more
College is expensive and yet a diploma is still necessary for many jobs. Even if college was not needed for work, a real liberal arts education is liberating and outstanding training for citizen leaders for our Republic. How can we drive the debt out of education and get high quality education to everyone? We have too many smaller college leaders stuck in a 1950’s model of what higher education should be (the campus/athletic complex) who then try to pay... Read more
Let’s have a candid talk about UUH, a problem most people ignore until it is too late. Unrequested Unwanted Help (UUH) is the most powerful force for unwanted control in the civilized world. In an advanced stage of UUH, a person can be made to feel guilty for not appreciating something they never wanted! “After all I have done for you,” he said, “you have the nerve not to do this one favor.” This is advanced UUH, but all of us fall... Read more
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