The word has become a catch-all term to mean “the things that conservatives hate.” However, that does not mean it has lost all usefulness. It is still a good description of a certain strain of progressive liberalism. Still, I have yet to hear a good definition of what that strain is and, more importantly, what to do about it. So, I would like to do that myself.
The abortion conversation has been stuck in the language of rights for some time. One person argues they have a right to abortion, and another argues a child has a right to life. Unfortunately for the pro-life movement, as soon as we get into a discussion of rights, we’ve already lost. The way Americans talk about “rights” has no place in the abortion debate. Rights are a negative claim. They…
If you listen to my podcast or have had the displeasure of speaking to me about politics in the past year, you may have heard me use the term “post-liberalism.” I think the time has come I actually say what that is. When I was in college, I encountered Catholic Social Teaching for the first time. I learned there were a few basic principles: subsidiarity, solidarity, a preferential option for…
When it comes to Facebook, I lean more towards the “burn it all down” camp. Based on reactions to the Facebook Papers, I’m not alone. Several scandals have broken out in the past year regarding Facebook and every time, I shake my head thinking that maybe we would be better off without it. However, I’m coming to realize that perspective reflects my Western privilege. I live in a country where…
My grandfather died this August. I’m not ready to write about my grieving process because I’m not quite sure how one grieves about these things.
The Fall of Robespierre In the second year of the first French Republic on the evening of the ninth day of a month they called Thermidor (July 27, 1794, to use our calendar) the revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was named a fugitive by his own government. The day before, Robespierre gave a speech to the National Convention threatening his enemies and defending his actions during what we now call “the…
If you have read my blog once or twice, you may know social media, particularly Twitter, is a favored scapegoat of mine. I often worry that, despite my age, I come off as an old man yelling at kids on my front lawn. Hopefully I am yelling some salient points. A few months ago, I was halfway through my usual rant about social media with a friend who works on…
A while back, I hadn’t been to confession in a month and a half. That might not seem like a long time, but I’m used to going twice a month, sometimes once a week. But for that month and a half, I neglected confession because of my experience with the priest. My Worst Confession That Saturday, I ended up at a parish far from where I lived. I knew all…
