Wesleyan University president Michael Roth‘s answer to the “culture war” is “culture peace.” Here is a taste of his piece today at Insider Higher Ed: We have often looked to schools and universities as places where inquiry and debate can...
civility
On “vicious political disagreement” and civic life
Here is a taste of Quinta Jurecic‘s piece at The Atlantic: Recently, pundits and journalists have tended to frame worries over the presence of violence in American politics as a question of whether the United States is slipping into a second civil war. There are...
Mitt Romney searches for the center in American political life
I believe the center is there. It is a very large center, incorporating both Left and Right. It is a center where we have real debates informed by reason, facts, science, and truth. It is a center that celebrates nuance...
Peter Wehner on Jonathan Haidt
Some of you are familiar with Haidt‘s book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. He argues that ethical judgments “arise not from reason but from gut feelings.” Over at The Atlantic, Peter Wehner has an...
Georgetown Day School Covers Student Visit to Messiah College
I covered this event here. Now it is Georgetown Day School’s turn. Here is a taste of “Civil Dialogue,” Daniel Stock’s piece at the GDS website: Over the course of the minimester, Sue, Lisa, Michael, and special guests explored the...
Should Churches Speak-Out Against Trump in the Same Way that *Christianity Today* Has Done?
John Haas of Bethel University (IN) responds on Facebook to my post “Civility and the Search for Common Ground Are Important, But Sometimes We Need a Prophetic Witness“: So, if this “spade” is what you say, is it enough for...
Civility and the Search for Common Ground Are Important, But Sometimes We Need a Prophetic Witness
Here is Baylor University professor and Christian public intellectual Alan Jacobs on Mark Galli’s editorial in Christianity Today calling for the removal of Donald Trump. I want him out. I was happy to see him impeached and I would dance for...
Cornel West and Robert George at Liberty University
I spent a little time last night watching Cornel West and Robert George at Liberty University. I have learned a lot from both of these men and I love watching them talk with one another. This conversation is no different. ...
Garrison Keillor on Plaza Life
Another great piece from Garrison Keillor: There has been a proliferation of plazas in the past twenty years, here in New York City but also elsewhere in America, even in Minnesota, where I’m from. Maybe in the zoning laws there...
Kirsten Powers is Off Twitter
I am really sorry to see this. I was a regular reader of Powers’s feed and always learned from her. I will continue to watch her on CNN because she is one of the few independent thinkers on mainstream cable. ...
Spirituality for Broken Public Discourse
In the spirit of my recent post “Rules of Engagement,” I want to call your attention to Nicholas Denysenko‘s piece on spirituality and public discourse in the recent issue of The Cresset. I read it last night and found it useful...
Rules of Engagement
I wrote this on my Facebook page last night in response to the ongoing conversation on my John Allen Chau post. I thought I would post a version of it (slightly edited) here. –JF Recent posts about the...
How Liberals Treated John McCain
During John McCain’s funeral service, Barack Obama and George W. Bush made veiled attacks on Donald Trump for the current president’s failure to promote civil discourse across political parties. But University of Pennsylvania historian Jonathan Zimmerman argues that liberals are also to...
The Civility Wars
Last week, Rutgers University historian David Greenberg chided his fellow Democrats for “taking the low road” in their opposition to Donald Trump and failing to practice civility. Here is a taste of his piece at Politico: Trump and his followers...
Alan Jacobs Talks to *The Atlantic* About Thinking, Conspiracy Theories, and the Nashville Statement (among other things)
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is a taste of Alan Jacobs’s recent interview with Emma Green of The Atlantic. The topic is Jacobs’s new book How to Think: Green: Some people look at our fractured media environment—where groups don’t even...
Cornel West and Ross Douthat Together at the University of St. Thomas
I have been concerned lately about the lack of open debate and public conversation on college campuses. All colleges and universities invite guest speakers to campus. At my college we do a fair job of inviting a range of...
Image of the Day
At Nancy Reagan’s funeral:...
Stephen Colbert "Salutes" Antonin Scalia
I always knew Scalia was a polarizing figure, but the hatred toward the man that I have been seeing on social media this week has been disheartening. These comments seem to go beyond just ideological difference. As a historian, I...
The Response to Scalia's Death
Three thoughts: Political posturing was already taking place within minutes of the announcement of Scalia’s death. After the announcement of Scalia’s death a lot of liberals, glad to see the conservative judge dead, turned to social media to write very...
A Lesson from the Scalia-Ginsburg Friendship
Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader-Ginsburg disagreed on just about everything, but they were very good friends. They would spend New Year’s Eve together. They took trips together. From all reports they really enjoyed one another’s company. I am guessing...