Just a brief note on the immigration news from today: C.S. Lewis once wrote about patriotism in The Four Loves: Of course patriotism of this kind (love of home) is not in the least aggressive. It asks only to be let alone. It becomes militant only to protect what it loves. In any mind with a pennyworth of imagination it produces a good attitude towards foreigners. How can I love my home without coming to realize that other men, no less... Read more
Property is one of those things that should be simple enough to discuss. The tendency though is to define it. And once it is defined, the tendency is to treat the definition as immutable. Property however isn’t a simple thing. It is a social construct. To start, let’s take a simple example. George has been working at a factory for 15 years. XYZ corporation decides that George is too old. They take George’s job and give it to Larry. Other... Read more
On the back of the warmest six months on record, and as it becomes more and more evident that climate change is reaching some kind of tipping point, the media remain embroiled in manufactured controversies and American policymakers either stick their heads in the sand or brazenly defend their God-given right to pollute. Paul Krugman thinks the problem is greed and cowardice. He’s right, but it makes sense to delve a little deeper. So here it is, the seven American heterodoxies... Read more
As my children age, I’m giving more thought to how I want to advise them on the next stages of their lives. (My oldest children are in elementary school.) My conflict is quite simple really. On the one hand, I want them to be open to love and family formation well before thirty. On the other hand, I want them to have graduate degrees and be secure in their ability to provide for their families. All I need is a third option... Read more
Vox Nova has for years pointed out the negative influence Evangelical Protestantism have had on American Catholics, where such Catholics have engaged Protestant sensibilities, turning their back on authentic Catholic teaching. It is easy to see how many American political ideologies have become a part of the religious faith of Catholics, so that when discussing religion, they end up echoing American political screeds. Now, I give you Hugh Hewitt, “There and Back Again: The Roman Catholic Church in America’s Next... Read more
Should Catholics who sell insurance for companies that provide for abortion care be excommunicated? Should those who work for companies that provide for abortions be excommunicated? Should those who work for companies that cut off health care support because it is too expensive, creating a situation where euthanasia occurs, be excommunicated? Should Catholics who buy insurance from companies that provide for abortion be excommunicated? Where exactly does one draw the line for excommunication based upon support for abortion? Read more
A few months ago, Richard Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru penned a long essay on American exceptionalism, and what they regard as Obama’s assault on it. Although I disagree with practically everything in it, is has the virtue of explaining the core tenets of what the modern American right dubs “conservatism”. My own belief is that this philosophy is fallacious – partly because it misinterprets conservatism, but mainly because it is totally divorced from Catholic sensibility and the Catholic worldview. Their hypothesis is... Read more
One of the things which certain partisans ignore is that President Obama certainly desires to keep his promises about health care reform to pro-life Democrats who supported his work. The meme that he is “the most pro-abortion president” of all time ignores what happened under and by President Nixon (who was interested in abortion for population control). Moreover, the meme is used time and again, despite no valid evidence in favor of his being a “big abortion supporter,” as a... Read more
There seem to be few days that go by where someone doesn’t say, “Do what you love, and you won’t ever have to work a day in your life,” or some variation of this cliche. Sometimes it is a person in a highly compensated field making that claim. More often it is a person that has settled and feels some obligation not to make a young man cynical. About the only cliche that is worse is the one about about... Read more
If the Church says “You are not allowed to bring guns into our churches,” would you accept their demand or ignore it? Read more
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