Culture

Political Polarization Is About Feelings, Not Facts 0
- Culture
- July 31, 2019
Politicians and pundits from all quarters often lament democracy’s polarized condition. Similarly, citizens frustrated with polarized politics also demand greater flexibility from the other side. Decrying polarization has become a way of impugning adversaries. Meanwhile, the political deadlock and resentment that polarization produces goes unaddressed. Ironic, right? Commentators rarely say what they mean by polarization. But
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How Children Are Missing Life’s Meaning 0
- Culture
- July 31, 2019
I escaped a few weeks ago. I left my job, the city, and – glory, hallelujah! – the internet behind and spent several days at a cabin up north. It was nothing but trees, country roads, a rocky shoreline, and a vast lake. And books. Lots of books. Until the disconnect comes, it’s hard to
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Five Surprising Public Figures Supporting Free Speech Over Transgender Wokeness 0
- Culture
- July 30, 2019
University disputes have always tended to descend into bitter words, perhaps because the stakes are so small. In his Preface to Shakespeare, the great 18th Century scholar Samuel Johnson observed that “when the truth to be investigated is so near to inexistence, as to escape attention, its bulk is to be enlarged by rage and exclamation.”
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How Our Culture Disempowers Teens 0
- Culture
- July 30, 2019
Teenagers are extraordinarily capable. Louis Braille invented his language for the blind when he was 15. Mary Shelley, daughter of libertarian feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, wrote Frankenstein when she was 18. As a young teen, Anne Frank documented her life of hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Prize at 17. The Impact
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Let’s Stop Blaming Law-Abiding Gun Owners 0
- Culture
- July 30, 2019
In the corner of the room near my desk are two .22-caliber rifles, a 20-gauge shotgun, and a BB gun. The single shot .22 was my father’s when he was a boy, the six shot .22 was the gift of a friend, and the shotgun was given me as a teenager and hasn’t had the
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How Did the Presidential Campaign Get to Be so Long?0
- Culture
- July 30, 2019
Four hundred and thirty-two days prior to the election and 158 days before the Iowa caucus, millions of Americans will tune in for the second round of Democratic debates. If this seems like a long time to contemplate the candidates, it is. By comparison, Canadian election campaigns average just 50 days. In France, candidates have
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