“Anyone can succumb to ideology. All it takes is a sense of one’s own moral superiority for being on the right side; a theory that purports to explain everything; and — this is crucial — a principled refusal to see things from the point of view of one’s opponents or victims, lest one be tainted […]
It is because no one actually gives a damn. Otherwise, we’d talk and fix it. I started this column with the best of intentions. This began with a long jeremiad explaining how Prince Edward County screwed it up for the rest of us during the Massive Resistance era, defunding their public schools and offering local […]
In Utah, the problem of homelessness gripped the state.Ā Programs were established to study the problem, shelters built, and salaries paid.Ā No one really seemed to be able to figure out how to resolve the problem of chronic homelessness until conservative Utahns picked up the work of NYU psychologist Sam Tsemberis and stumbled upon the […]
One of the things which characterizes the Christian West is our emphasis on literature, both printed and spoken.Ā While most historians and classicists will put Boethius’Ā Consolations of Philosophy as the bookend for Roman antiquity, the beginning of our notions of the West start firmly with St. Augustine of Hippo.Ā Known best for his bookĀ The City […]
Virginia Republicans are set to recapture the State Senate in a near triumph. With Virginiaās proximity to Washington, gasoline north of $3.50/gal, and Biden 12 points underwater according to the latest aggregate polling, there is precious little light at the end of the tunnel for Virginia Democrats if conventional wisdom is any indicator. If the […]
There’s a reason why public officials are called to order, not chaos. Robertās Rule of Order (RONR)Ā is not designed to be a cudgel, nor does it exist for its own sake, but rather it exists to order and facilitate decision-making processes by those empowered to make such decisions ā elected officials, unit committees, or non-profit […]
Is anyone else tired of stupid governing our politics?Ā Donāt we have better things to do?Ā Ā One of the things that surprised me with the launch of theĀ Fredericksburg AdvanceĀ is that our politics are much more polarized than they were just 10 years ago.Ā The number of letters were few, but pointed enough to express shock […]
Just about everyone has seen the filmĀ Dead Poets Society.Ā TheĀ scene with John Keating, played by Robin Williams, instructing his students to rip out the pages that reduce poetry to mere mathematics is one of the more iconic moments in the film, with students relishing the opportunity to vandalize their books. Or more appropriately, pay the […]
Resisting the Partisan in Local Politics
“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin.” — President James Monroe, First Inaugural Address […]