When teaching my tenth-grade world history students about capitalism, socialism, and communism, I start by giving them a ten-question survey of their views. This includes questions like: Free trade between countries is: a. Good, because it leads to lower prices for consumers, b. Bad, because it leads to lower wages/ less jobs for workers in … Continue reading The Case against Capitalism (and Socialism)
Most objections to Christianity, or to religion more broadly, are hardly unique. So, encountering this fairly typical description of six “paths to atheism” seems as good an opportunity as any to address them. I’ve come to realize that our objections to God’s existence tell us more about ourselves than about Him. Most can be boiled … Continue reading What Our Objections to God Say about Us
Winter has come to this place and I to it am bound, finding not one last brilliant leaf believing it would never grace the ground. Traversing a cold so still, the only sound our trampling, in clumsy sacrilege, shriveled foliage that just weeks ago filtered autumn light like glass stained by the master’s hand, now … Continue reading A Tree in Winter
“I saw something on the internet; I’m not sure if it’s true, but people were drinking milk out of plastic bags.” “Oh yeah,” I said to the teenager sitting across from me, “I remember that. Sometime around second grade, I think it was.” “Why would people do that?” he asked in astonishment. I shrugged. “Budget … Continue reading The Bonds of Nostalgia
Last night I took my sons to a high school soccer game. One of the best teams in the state (my school) was playing an opponent from a rural county. It was never even close. We scored within the first minute of play, punching the ball in off a cross. It was almost unfair the … Continue reading The Benedict Option for a Brave New World
Richard Spencer, the leader of the “alt-right” movement and a proud white supremacist, just provided the most damning defense of abortion I have ever encountered, and everyone should read it. If you believe abortion is a woman’s “right,” or that it is just a personal choice the government should stay out of – even if … Continue reading White Supremacist: The Problem with Pro-Lifers Is They Believe in Human Rights
When asked to define conservatism, the average person would likely rattle off a list of policy positions. Conservatives are for lower taxes, smaller government, stronger defense, and more traditional values. Liberals, on the other hand, favor higher taxes on the wealthy, a more generous welfare state, a smaller defense budget, and more progressive social norms. But this brings … Continue reading Edmund Burke, the French Revolution, and What It Means to Be Conservative
Today When I was a child I saw the world through eyes that shone with every color – of turquoise, emerald, crimson, gold, and each rich shade of sister and brother. But when this vision grew too bright, I made myself a private night. Dark shades I wore to block the day – Today I decided to put … Continue reading Today – A Poem
The lessons we draw from the past often do more to shape the future than the past itself, even if they are the wrong lessons. Most of our errors and exaggerations contain more than a grain of truth. We are highly capable of taking a valid insight and pushing it a bit too far, or … Continue reading Don’t Blame Everything on Imperialism
On February 22nd, the city of Charlotte passed an ordinance allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice, regardless of biological sex. North Carolina’s state legislature responded on March 23rd by passing a law requiring individuals to use the restroom corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate. Since then, our country … Continue reading What’s Really at Stake in the Bathroom Wars
The Front Porch Philosopher 