Tis the season for graduation speeches, when accomplished individuals draped in medieval garb deliver words of wisdom to anxious twenty-two-year-olds. I usually hate such occasions: the sappiness, the clichés, the self-congratulation. I skipped my college graduation and likely would have passed on my high school ceremony too, if given the chance. When it comes to doling out … Continue reading How to Not Succeed in Life: Nine Things Every Young Graduate Should Know
Giving Up Our Natural Rights for Artificial Ones
It's been a long time since there has been this much fundamental disagreement in America over the nature of liberty. Judging by recent events, many Americans no longer value our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Where did this disregard originate, what worldview underlies it, and how can we fight … Continue reading Giving Up Our Natural Rights for Artificial Ones
Interpreting Obama’s History Lesson on the Crusades
President Obama recently made headlines with some off-the-cuff historical commentary at the National Prayer Breakfast. In discussing the challenge posed by terrorist groups like ISIS, Obama cautioned: “Lest we get on our high horse and think (violence in the name of faith) is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people … Continue reading Interpreting Obama’s History Lesson on the Crusades
How Much Can We Really Learn from History?
“Why do we bother to study the past?” Like many other teachers, I sometimes begin the new school year by putting this question to my eager young pupils. It could be considered The Great Challenge of All History Teachers Everywhere—getting kids to see the relevance of something that happened a thousand years ago, when they (like most of us) … Continue reading How Much Can We Really Learn from History?
Conflict, the Constitution, and Compromise: Six Takeaways from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Many Americans are frustrated by the gridlock and lack of cooperation in Washington. Some blame Republican “obstructionists” in Congress, while others point to an insular and dysfunctional White House. There have even been attempts to lay our current troubles at the feet of James Madison, Father of the Constitution. But does it really have to … Continue reading Conflict, the Constitution, and Compromise: Six Takeaways from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
We Need More than a Strategy for ISIS
By Lauren Gillespie In what may come to be regarded as a low point in his presidency, Obama admitted at a press conference last week that “we don’t have a strategy yet” for dealing with ISIS. It’s bad enough to witness the leader of the free world golfing and fundraising while barbarians are beheading American … Continue reading We Need More than a Strategy for ISIS
Some Thoughts on Ferguson
What has been your reaction to the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri? Did you feel grief that a teenage boy was killed? Anger at the cop who pulled the trigger, the reaction of the Ferguson police, or the racism of the “system?” Did you feel frustration at the rush to judgment? Sadness at the divisions laid … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Ferguson
A Hoops Fan Anticipates Football Season
By Lauren Gillespie Growing up, football was never my sport. Basketball, soccer, and rock climbing all dominated my attention far more than the ironically named football, in which only a handful of players ever make contact with the ball using their feet. Two reasons explain my early lack of enthusiasm. First, I am female, and … Continue reading A Hoops Fan Anticipates Football Season
Answering Israel’s Critics
By Lauren Gillespie We all do things when we are fifteen that we later regret. In my case, in addition to the usual suspects, this was to draw a false moral equivalence between Israelis and Palestinians during the Second Intifada. In 2002, I wrote an op-ed for the Roanoke Times blaming leadership on both sides … Continue reading Answering Israel’s Critics
No Surprise Obama Is Checking Out
By Lauren Gillespie “The degree to which Barack Obama is now phoning it in – sleepwalking perfunctorily through his second term, amid gold rounds and dinner parties – is astonishing,” writes Matt Lewis for the British Telegraph. “The only thing that makes sense is that he is exhausted and, perhaps, has checked out of the … Continue reading No Surprise Obama Is Checking Out
The Front Porch Philosopher 