Overshadowed in the terrorist attacks in Paris by ISIS was the #MillionStudentMarch led by students and non-students who demanded (their words) “tuition-free public college, cancelation of all student debt, and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers.” Here at Intellectual Takeout, we’re thoroughly troubled by the enormous costs of college and the expectation that
READ MOREThe Public Religion Research Institute recently released some fascinating polling data from its 2015 American Values Survey. It appears that all that white-shaming is actually having an effect. Regarding the culture, white Americans overwhelmingly think it’s going to hell: “A majority (53%) of Americans say that American culture and way of life has mostly changed
READ MOREBack in 1996, all seemed wonderful. The world was peaceful, the Communists had collapsed, and the economy was booming. Yet during such peaceful times, Samuel Huntington published his famous book The Clash of Civilizations. He concluded with these thoughts: “On a worldwide basis Civilization seems in many respects to be yielding to barbarism, generating the
READ MORETaking the SAT or ACT exam is a big milestone in the high school careers of many students. One of the most daunting portions of the exam is THE ESSAY. For those who have taken the SAT recently, the following sample question may seem familiar: Compare this to the 1915 Grammar and Composition Exam produced
READ MORELincoln’s Gettysburg Address has achieved a status as American Scripture equaled only by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Washington’s Farewell Address. In merely 271 words, the wartime president fused his epoch’s most powerful and disruptive tendencies—nationalism, democratism, and German idealism—into a civil religion indebted to the language of Christianity, but devoid of its
READ MORERemember the McCaughey septuplets? Amazingly, those tiny babies are celebrating their 18th birthday today! In honor of the occasion, USA Today served up a feature article about the family, complete with details on the future plans of each of the seven famous children. Judging from the article, the McCaughey septuplets seem to be happy, congenial,
READ MOREIn recent weeks, Congress has been working hard to revamp the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Following its initial welcome and acclaim, the law fell out of favor with the American public as the federal government’s role became more apparent and individual states had less say over education decisions. But news out of Washington
READ MOREGood ol’ Tom Wolfe, author of The Bonfire of the Vanities, has a great description of bureaucrats and what they secretly crave in his short piece Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers. If you’ve ever been at the mercy of a bureaucrat demanding the proper forms, this one will probably resonate with you. “There are those who
READ MOREA group of archeologists have recently concluded that it wasn’t just climate change that lead to the sudden disappearance of the Pueblo ancestors who used to occupy the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings roughly 800 years ago. While historical climate change impacts are certainly relevant to our times, archeologists’ beliefs that migrants and culture clashes had a
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