Pat Robertson, the lightening rod televangelist and former presidential candidate, doesn’t much like Saturday Night Live mocking Tim Tebow, or Jesus Christ. He called last Saturday night’s skit part of wave of "anti-Christian bigotry that is just disgusting."
Andrew Klavan is one of the most perceptive cultural analysts of our day, and his Klavan on Culture at Pajamas Media is a frequent stop of mine. In a recent post on a new book called Willpower, Klavan takes the Baby Boomer generation to task for ruining American culture. I suppose Boomers can be an easy target for such a charge, but Klavan does it in a way that shows how our liberties are lost at the door of license. Without personal responsibility, as the Founders of our country knew, true liberty is unattainable. Klavan understands and argues well that when we throw away moral values for a self-centered freedom to do whatever we want, we in fact get statist coercion running our lives. A great writer, he knows how to make his case: ehaving well, behaving responsibly, learning the norms of politeness and refusing to abandon them without good reason tend to make you a more self-controlled, successful, and finally better person. This is precisely the wisdom my generation threw away. Their promiscuity, adolescent foul-mouthedness, bad manners, and disregard for tradition — all of which they claimed were a new kind of freedom — were in fact the precursors
The Oprah Winfrey Show is no more. The last episode aired on May 25, 2011 after 25 years on the air, and in my opinion, it could not have come sooner. Oprah Winfrey made a fetish out of emotional exhibitionism, boosted New Age spirituality, normalized the blurring of gender roles, and influenced millions to privilege feelings and emotion over rational thought. The Media Research Center’s Erin R. Brown and Matthew Philbin present a bracing tonic to all those gushing reports about the end of Oprah’s reign in daytime television. “mid all the fawning retrospectives and misty tributes, it’s important to remember just who Oprah is, the biased viewpoint she represents and the damage she’s done to popular culture.” Over the years, Oprah promoted gun control, global warming, and a guaranteed government wage for at least four years should you lose your job. Think I’m exaggerating that last point? Think again. The best way to deal with unemployment, and the threats to one’s well-being that condition presents, would be, according to Winfrey, a guaranteed government paycheck for four years. In 2009, The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcast from Copenhagen, Denmark. During her visit she raved over that government’s practice of paying the
A recent New York magazine article has raised a bit of a ruckus on the right. In his long article on libertarianism, Christopher Beam appears both fascinated and puzzled by the odd phenomenon under his microscope. Anyone at all familiar with libertarianism will recognize that his characterization of the movement and the philosophy behind it is something of a caricature, but there is a serious critique to be found in his article. That critique is seriously wrong, as it happens, and understanding just where Beam goes wrong could go a long way toward helping libertarians, conservatives, classical liberals, and others on the right better understand the foundations of our thought and the opportunities for a mass movement it may afford. Too often we tend to argue as vigorously over our differences with one another as we do with those whose big-government policies are the real adversary. What we share, however, is the foundation for a truly American mass political movement. Beam, for his part, understands that the movement has developed a strong following among more than just fringe types in recent months: There’s never been a better time to be a libertarian than now. The right is still railing against
Independence Day may be my favorite holiday. Sure, I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, and Easter and St. Patrick’s Day are not without their charms. But America’s birthday is a holiday like no other. Over the past eight years or so, with two exceptions, we’ve helped put on a large block party, complete with games, food, strong drink, music, patriotic readings, and, when the sun goes down, plenty of fireworks. I love the fellowship. I’m dismayed at the ignorance of some of my fellow Americans, of course. But I think the holiday can serve an educational purpose without dampening the fun. And as with any holiday, one often looks for reasons to, shall we say, stretch it out a bit. Why celebrate American independence and liberty just one day out of the year? Several years ago, I found a good excuse in two letters John Adams wrote to his beloved wife, Abigail. This was just after the delegates at the Continental Congress cast the fateful vote to separate from Great Britain and draft a Declaration of Independence. Adams, along with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, formed the drafting committee. These were heady days, the culmination of years of argument, abuse and
Shelby Steele returns to the pages of the Wall Street Journal with another provocative essay on the Barack Obama Phenomenon. But is freedom really in conflict with "the good"? Or is something else going on?
Ever since I came to political awareness many moons ago, I’ve been puzzled by the words liberty and freedom, and why we have two words for what appears to be the same idea. I have a feeling that I’m not alone. I’ve never researched it specifically, and in all my reading I’ve never seen an explanation that differentiates the two words, until now. On the advice of a friend I purchased David Hackett Fischer’s at least seven pound tome, “Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America’s Founding Ideas.” What a great looking book, and it’s really impressive on the book shelf, especially when people come over and think one reads such very large books. But despite the natural intimidation that comes from opening very thick books, I decided to tackle the introduction. That I could handle. What a revelation, especially as I head an organization that seeks to promote a culture of liberty in the United States. Historically the words are indeed not synonymous, which is why there are two words and not one. I know that’s kind of obvious, but all words come from somewhere and derive their meaning in some part from that history. The study of
For well over a decade, Glass Hammer has been one of the most impressive and productive rock bands while remaining resolutely independent from the music industry’s star-making and -consuming apparatus. Taking advantage of that independence and the liberty it affords, the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based group led by multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Fred Schendel and Steve Babb has produced some of the most musically impressive and thematically interesting albums of our time. Releases such as Lex Rex, Perelandra, On to Evermore, and The Inconsolable Secret are classics of modern rock, while Culture of Ascent and Chronometree are likewise impressive and thoroughly enjoyable. All are well worth owning, and the band’s entire catalog, extensive as it is, is well worth exploring. Their musical and lyrical adventurousness and their virtuosic instrumental abilities placed Glass Hammer firmly in the category of progressive rock, an assessment which the group embraced without seeming to let it limit their creativity. As appears to be the case with most of those who gravitate to progressive rock, Babb and Schendel seem to revel in stretching their musical and compositional abilities and exploring far beyond the confines of three-chord rock music while always keeping in mind the premise that music should be
Recent controversies over sex "jokes" exemplify the valid concern over the loss of decency in public discourse. The real victims are the American public, S. T. Karnick writes.
The Michael Phelps saga continues. Earlier today it was reported that the sheriff’s department in the South Carolina county where the infamous bong photo was taken arrested eight people believed to be connected with the incident—but for activities of last weekend, not the Phelps incident of last November. But one must certainly think that the publicity put them on the coppers’ radar.
The recent decision by eHarmony to settle a sexual discrimination lawsuit is no victory for justice. It did nothing less than allow government to take away the freedom of entrepreneurs to establish and stick to their own business plans. By James G. Lakely
According to Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko in testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime on July 2 of this year, 800 times per week in this country, a SWAT team breaks open an American’s door, and invades his home. Few turn up any weapons at all, much less high-power weapons. Less than half end with felony charges for the suspects. And only a small percentage end up doing significant time in prison. Please bear that in mind as you read the following guest commentary by Steve Stanek, a research fellow of the Heartland Institute. The points Steve has to make are of immense importance, and I endorse his view here.
Recent Comments