Pop music is specifically designed for solo artists, which means that it does not lend itself well to congregational singing. It is also written to be a performance for an audience, which means that it does not lend itself well to corporate worship. So says church musician Jonathan Aigner.
It wasn't the Virginia slave ship in 1619 that defined American values, argues "The Federalist," but the pilgrims on the Mayflower in 1620. Indeed, they contributed a zeal for freedom, commitment to self-government, and a contempt for Old World hierarchies, including those preserved in the institution of slavery.
The new spate of Islamic terrorism in France, due to more Charlie Hebdo cartoons, demonstrates a crisis in both Western liberalism and Islam. So says one observer, who perhaps misses the crisis in secularism.
The Georgia run-off elections will determine which party controls the Senate and thus the ability of the Democrats to implement their agenda. But though the two races required a run-off, the other candidates were mostly conservative and their voters can be expected to rally around the Republican candidates.
One benefit of having an old-school Democratic politician in the White House: Earmarks--the practice of letting Congressmen tack on spending measures for pet projects in their districts--will be coming back! Despite the potential for political corruption, this can also have some unintended positive consequences.
When it comes to religion, the best way to describe the nation overall is that we are remarkably balanced. About one-third of Americans are religious; one-third are secularist; and one-third are somewhere in between.
Western civilization derives from three cities: Jerusalem, which gave us morality, purpose, and religion; Athens, which gave us reason and knowledge; and Rome, which gave us the rule of law. And our culture is currently repudiating them all.
Instead of trying to persuade voters of the wisdom of particular policies, both Democrats and Republicans in the last election sought to mobilize the voters who already thought they way they did. This created problems for both parties.
Mary Eberstadt argues that the lack of a father figure in young people's lives can lead to a search for a replacement that can create a sense of psychological identity, as fathers and family life used to. This contributes to the rise of identity politics, as well as a fury against fathers and the traditional family that comes from the experience of being abandoned.
According to a Swedish study of Americans, both men and women agreed that men had more power in the public dimension of life (the realm of work, politics, etc.). But both women and men agreed that women had more power in the private dimension of life (the realm of relationships, family, home life, etc.). And both women and men agreed that the private dimension is more important.
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