Today, virtually everything has become political: religion, relationships, education, entertainment, the arts, working, buying, eating, health, technology, etc., etc. This mindset goes back to the French Revolution, which replaced religion with politics, as what defines good and evil and gives meaning to life.
Trump supporters used to be portrayed as nationalists, as extreme patriots whose desire to "make America great again" was too laudatory of the U.S.A. Now they are being portrayed as insurrectionists and terrorists who are trying to destroy America.
Donald Trump claimed that the election was "rigged" against him. The media consistently reported that this contention was "unsupported," or even a "lie." But now, in the afterglow of Biden's victory, the left is congratulating itself on how it did, in fact, manipulate the election. "Time Magazine" gives the details in a blockbuster story.
"Freedom" is something we Americans value above all else, practically. But what does it mean? There are actually three generally-recognized kinds of freedom, plus another one that gets less attention but that may be the key to the whole concept.
On the occasion of my book "God at Work" going on sale, I summarize the elements of Luther's doctrine of vocation, then offer a sample from the chapter on the callings of the family.
Our federal government's debt is now some $21 trillion, as much as the entire national economy, with more trillions of deficit spending on the way. An article explains why we shouldn't worry about this. But I disagree.
The hard left does not believe in liberal democracy or civil liberties. They believe in control. Thus the calls to ban Fox News by pressuring cable providers and advertisers. But totalitarianism can come not just from the government but also from the private sector.
St. Augustine condemned abortion for its cruelty and as an offense against God Himself. But, like St. Thomas Aquinas, he associated "ensoulment," the point at which the baby acquires his or her immortal soul, with "quickening," when the mother can first feel the baby move. This accords with the primitive science of his day, and yet some modern theologians seize on his mistake to justify abortion!
The question for Republicans and conservatives in general is not just whether to keep Donald Trump as their spokesman-in-exile. It's whether to keep pursuing the conservative populism that he embodied or to go back to more traditional establishment-oriented conservatism.
Donald Trump has been impeached a second time, even though he has already left office. But is it possible to impeach someone who has already left office? Some experts say, "yes." But such a procedure is contrary to reason and to the Constitution.
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