The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. Some people love the pomp and patriotism. Others the excuse to drink cheap domestic beer to excess and blow things up. My love of it is more abstract. I love how the holiday– or the idea of the holiday to be more accurate– represents the […]
Read more "Real Americans"McCay Coppins has a story in the Atlantic that explains Stephen Miller’s influence over President Trump’s wildly unpopular immigration policies. “But for Miller, it seems, all is going according to plan—another “constructive controversy” unfolding with great potential for enlightenment. His bet appears to be that voters will witness this showdown between Trump and his angry […]
Read more "Stephen Miller, Underpants Gnome"Another day, another conservative screed against higher education. Today’s entry comes courtesy of Brad Polumbo, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, writing in the National Review. Polumbo points to a study claiming 45% of undergraduates show little improvement in their ability to think critically, reason, or write well after their first two years of […]
Read more "College Students Are Learning Plenty (When They Bother to Try)"One of the defining pursuits of modern American life is the quest for authenticity. To be real. This concept, at once amorphous and yet instantly recognizable, cuts across race, class, sexuality, gender, and region. While we might all know it when we see it, that doesn’t mean we all agree on what it is. Or […]
Read more "Living Authentically"Today, it seems harder than ever to discern fiction from reality. Our President frequently laments the “Fake News” while journalists detail the myriad of lies and scandals that plague his administration. Conspiracy theories masquerading as documentary films proliferate insane ideas like the government is controlling your mind by putting fluoride in the water or poisoning […]
Read more "Mister Rogers, NRATV, the How to Win Hearts and Minds Through Video Content"America is becoming more like itself again. More Americans are trying to make it so, in more places, than most Americans are aware. Even as the country is becoming worse in obvious ways—angrier, more divided, less able to do the basic business of governing itself—it is becoming distinctly better on a range of other indicators […]
Read more "It is Still Morning in America"Few subjects illustrate the stark philosophical divides in American culture like porn and guns. Obstensively, these are two of the nations most popular products. We create and consume them in numbers that almost defy belief. By at least one study, roughly 10% of internet use involves pornography. In 2012, Americans tried to purchase over 17 […]
Read more "Porn and Guns"