As the Fourth of July approaches, Americans are faced with a troubling question: Which flag will you be flying this holiday? The day should serve as an occasion for the nation to unite around its national symbol. Americans have always celebrated with patriotic displays of the stars and stripes of all sizes. This year is … Read more
Tempus Fugit. Memento Mori. Four Latin words describe the traditional attitude toward death, especially our own. Our less economical English language translates the adage as “Time passes quickly. Remember, one day, you will die.” The phrase recalls a comment I once read about a pious woman. “She died every day that she lived.” She weighed … Read more
Many in our modern society bemoan the loss of politeness. It is so rare that people are often surprised or even suspicious when someone else shows them what used to be called “common courtesy.” A Famine Where There Should Be Plenty Politeness or courtesy appears to be in ever-shorter supply for many reasons. Automobile traffic … Read more
Modern pedagogy — that is, the pedagogical, psychological, and psychiatric schools of the ’60s — advocated that parents never say “no” to their children. These pedagogues taught that prohibiting a child from anything from sucking his thumb to attending bad movies would cause a negative traumatic experience. In May of 1968 the Sorbonne Revolution launched … Read more
There is good news in America today. Unemployment is down as the economy is booming. Jobs are available to all. Happy times should be here again. An economy-centered vision of society holds that plentiful jobs automatically lead to happiness. Give everyone a good job, they claim, and it will increase the person’s self-respect. Everything else … Read more
