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America Is Losing Its Sense of Humor 0
- Culture
- May 24, 2017
I often remark to my acquaintances that Americans no longer tell jokes. Growing up, as a child, I was in possession of a healthy arsenal of jokes that I gleaned from my parents, relatives, and friends, and that I would eagerly relay to others when the opportunity arose. Decades later, I can’t remember a single
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Questioning ‘Diversity’ is the New Blasphemy 0
- Culture
- May 23, 2017
I’ve been watching for a couple weeks now the saga of Paul Griffiths, Warren Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke University. For those unfamiliar, in February, Griffiths, an esteemed scholar who has taught at Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, and numerous other colleges, sent an email to colleagues urging them to not accept the
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‘The Middle’ Doesn’t Always Equal ‘True’0
- Philosophy
- May 23, 2017
We live in an age in which our media frequently frames issues up as a choice between two extremes. In such an age, it’s tempting for those who consider themselves educated to consistently take the via media—the “middle way”—and to assume that the truth always amounts to a balanced compromise between the two sides of
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When You Stop Blaming, Real Change Begins 0
- Culture
- May 22, 2017
“A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things,” explains entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn. Many of us major in the practice of blaming. We spend so much time on the “who’s to blame” question that we have little mental bandwidth left to be effective. President Trump recently proclaimed his
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6 Statistics That Show How Much America Has Changed in a Half-Century 0
- Culture
- May 22, 2017
Since the political scientist Charles Murray will be speaking at Intellectual Takeout’s upcoming gala, I thought it fitting to read his best-selling 2012 book, Coming Apart. Drawing on five decades of statistics, anecdotes, and other research, Murray sets out to make the case that America is, well, coming apart—economically, socially, and culturally. It’s a fascinating
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The Key to Happiness: Focus on what’s within your control 0
- History
- May 22, 2017
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. This is the Serenity Prayer, originally written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr around 1934, and commonly used by Alcoholics Anonymous and similar organisations. It is not just a key
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