The Tea Party Movement, otherwise known as the Great Peasant Revolt of 2010, has been greeted by the country’s ruling class with all the sympathy that Voltaire expressed toward the Catholic Church: “Kill the infamous thing!” Although the American Revolution … Continue reading
Media & Culture
V&V Q&A: On “Dupes” Scholarship, Partisanship, and Redemption
An Interview with Dr. Paul Kengor Editor’s Note: The “V&V Q&A” is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. This is an interview with Dr. Paul Kengor, professor of political science and executive director of … Continue reading
The 50th Anniversary of a Historic Speech
This September 12 marks the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s historic speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in which he countered religious objections to his candidacy and promised to honor the separation of church and state. This speech … Continue reading
The Thin Culture: Hoping for Good News from Cathy
My favorite section of the paper is still the comics. Lately I have been reading what seems to have become an annual theme in the “Cathy” comic strip. Not only can Cathy not find a suitable bathing suit, she is … Continue reading
First, Do No Harm
As a psychology professor I teach students who plan to be practitioners of social science. They have been moved with compassion by the problems so many people face, such as being in a painful marriage or having a child with … Continue reading
Speaking Truth to History: A Perfect Game
I’m not one to bother with the latest alleged blockbuster buzzing from the salons of Hollywood high culture. Over the course of two valuable hours, I can only take so many car chases, explosions, and run-of-the-mill depravity. Alas, I had a … Continue reading
Progressing Backwards
Editor’s note: This article first appeared through the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, Mich. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the Center are properly cited. … Continue reading
CPAC and Glenn Beck
This year’s Conservative Political Action Conference was unique. The Tea Party movement burst forth in August 2009 and the tension that this leaderless juggernaut generates among establishment conservatives was palpable at the nation’s largest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives and … Continue reading
The Education of Sarah Palin: A Review of “Going Rogue: An American Life”
“Going Rogue: An American Life” By Sarah Palin | HarperCollins (November 2009) | 432 pp. | List Price: $28.99 Most likely, millions of copies of Going Rogue have been sold in recent months because Sarah Palin inspires either great enthusiasm or great antipathy among Americans. In … Continue reading
What’s in a Word? Dissecting the “Middle Class” and “Populism”
Each day, political claims and terminology—astonishing or at least remarkable—pop up in the media. Consider two such current terms: “middle class” and “populism.”In the wake of the Massachusetts senatorial election, a sudden cascade of speeches and press releases by President … Continue reading
Gore Unhinged
“How can ANYONE take this man seriously?” writes Marilyn, a frequent reader of our Center for Vision & Values articles. Attached to Marilyn’s email was this headline, “Gore compares climate change fight to war against Nazis.” As the accompanying article … Continue reading
V&V Q&A: On E.D. Hirsch Jr. and Cultural Literacy
Editor’s Note: The “V&V Q&A” is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. Each issue will present an interview with an intriguing thinker or opinion-maker that we hope will prove illuminating to readers everywhere. In … Continue reading
Slumdogs and Slavery
On the Monday morning following the Oscars, U.S. news websites splashed the announcement that the “little film that could,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” had garnered the Best Picture of 2008 award. Buried on many of the same web sites was the news … Continue reading
Team Obama: Ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll
Ready for some political and economic rock and roll? It’s happening. In 2008, Americans were rocked by the beginnings of a deflationary credit collapse and Uncle Sam’s extraordinary bailout/nationalization agenda. In 2009, Americans will be rolled. If you think 2008 … Continue reading
“Media Lied, Kids Died?”
I first heard it in an email from a professor in Illinois. We were arguing about something I wrote on Barack Obama. I asked if he agreed that the media had been breathlessly, transparently biased in favor of Obama in … Continue reading
Not the Great Communicator: On Bush, Berlin, and Moses
As the country considers the inauguration of Barack Obama, I’m mindful of another inauguration that seems a long time ago, and which speaks volumes to the presidential transition we are about to witness. It was a January day in 1999, … Continue reading
Howard Dean’s Presidential Victory
“George Bush is not my neighbor!” —Howard Dean, January 2004 Five years ago, George W. Bush finished the last good year of his presidency. Things were looking up. The Democratic front-runners seeking their party’s presidential nomination lauded the historic accomplishments … Continue reading
Ignorance is Not Bliss
Quick, attempt the following: Name the three branches of the federal government. Recognize the speech where the words “of the people, by the people, and for the people” come from. Identify the female judge on American Idol. The Intercollegiate Studies … Continue reading
Today’s Frankensteins
“Man,” I cried, “how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say.” —Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, volume III, chapter 7 With the help of Hollywood—though often to its detriment—Mary Shelley’s 19th century … Continue reading
Hatred and Politics
Politics in America is a contact sport. Passions flare and the rhetoric can get heated and nasty. Political parties stoke these fires, playing on people’s fears as a key fund-raising tactic. Conservative authors have produced books with insulting titles like … Continue reading