Most Americans, even most American Christians, celebrate Christmas much more than Easter, yet it is only Easter—Pascha—that makes sense of Christmas. The birth of Christ is only something to celebrate if you know the rest of the story. Consider the … Continue reading
Conflict makes people uncomfortable, so in mixed company, people watch what they say. Instead of speaking their minds on controversial issues, they trim their opinions to fit those around them—sometimes out of charity, sometimes out of prudence, but often out … Continue reading
Let’s see: They’re both very long, with lots of characters with lots of names, doing lots of things over many years. So yes, A Crown of Life is indeed like War and Peace. But this reader means a little more, … Continue reading
It seems, indeed, I’ve started a movement. Well, sort of. It’s called the Canton Movement, and you can find it here. It appears to be a libertarian effort. Their concept of ideological cantons is new to me, so I won’t … Continue reading
You know you’ve hit a nerve when what you write brings a barrage of criticism from people who never should have noticed it. That’s what’s happened since The American Conservative posted my manifesto of Ethical Conservatism. In less than a week, … Continue reading
When Eight Ways to Run the Country was published in November 2006, I missed the chance to do much publicity. Shortly after the book appeared, I took a new and very demanding job that didn’t leave time for media interviews or … Continue reading
We were all taught in school that the English were descended from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded Britain in the fourth and fifth centuries, bringing their lowland German language with them. That now appears to be one of … Continue reading
Elsewhere I’ve written about a very unfortunate unintended consequence of anti-discrimination laws: They take away much of our freedom of association and with it much of our freedom of speech, because in mixed company, people must watch what they say. … Continue reading
Twenty years ago a friend of mine published a novel, and after reading it I thought, I can do better than that. So I started work on the kind of novel I like to read — an epic romance spanning … Continue reading
From The City That Never Sleeps comes another reason to stay awake at night: Last May, the Fire Department of New York graduated from its Fire Academy a woman who failed a required running test. Since then, the woman has … Continue reading
