Angus King, independent senator from Maine:
democracy
Episode 92: “Original Sin and the History of American Democracy”
Our guest in this episode is historian Robert Tracy McKenzie, author of We the Fallen the People: The Founders and the Future of American Democracy. In the spirit of the 20th-century theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr, McKenzie places the Christian doctrine of […]
Episode 86: A Conversation with Eric Miller, Editor of Current
In this episode we introduce Current, a new online platform of commentary and opinion that provides daily reflection on contemporary culture, politics, and ideas. Editor Eric Miller talks about Current‘s vision, some of his favorite articles, and the history of the […]
Snyder: “The war on history is a war on democracy”
Yale historian Timothy Snyder sees a lot of similarities between the discussion of race happening right now in American schools and the 20th-century European totalitarianism regimes thought about the past. Here is a taste of his piece The New York […]
Do Marxists, critical race theorists, and Tucker Carlson have anything in common?
Anne Applebaum is going to catch hell for this column, but she is right. The subtitle of her Atlantic piece reads: “Marxist literary scholars and popularizers of critical race theory have one thing in common with certain GOP commentators: a […]
100 prominent political scientists: American democracy is in danger
New America, a Washington D.C. think tank, gathered 100 political scientists to sign this statement of concern: June 1, 2021 We, the undersigned, are scholars of democracy who have watched the recent deterioration of U.S. elections and liberal democracy with […]
William F. Buckley: “…I, for one, would not willingly die for ‘democracy'”
Historian Joshua Tait writes, “…the democracy-denying beliefs and actions of today’s conservative Republican party–rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election and seeking to manipulate voting laws nationwide in a cynical assault on the democratic process–have plentiful precedent in conservative […]
“The humanities face continued marginalization despite increasing evidence of the broad civic and social harm that results from neglecting them.”
The quote in the title of this post comes from Grant Kaplan’s piece “The Crisis in Catholic Theology” published last week at America. Here is a taste: Today, although concern for the future of Catholic universities remains high, relatively little […]
Who will enhance humanities research at Christian colleges?
I am happy for my STEM colleagues at Christian colleges. Here is Inside Higher Ed: Nine Christian colleges will receive more than $1.5 million in total grant funding as part of a project to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics research at Council […]
Are we in the midst of a third American revolution?
CNN legal scholar Carrie Cordero and historian Ed Larson at USA Today: We are all familiar with the first American Revolution: an actual war, a rebellion for self-governance. But it was not long after that Thomas Jefferson called the election of 1800 […]
A Third Reconstruction?
Matt Ford gives us a lot to think about in this piece at The New Republic. titled “Our 250-Year Fight for Multiracial Democracy.” A taste: Some scholars and activists, by the same token, break down American history into presidencies or […]
Liz Cheney: “Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar”
Her party empowers liars and removes truth-tellers from leadership positions. Here is Liz Cheney’s parting shot: The sound you hear are progressives cheering for one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives:
The Author’s Corner with Elizabeth Kimball
Elizabeth Kimball is Assistant Professor of English at Drexel University. This interview is based on her new book, Translingual Inheritance: Language Diversity in Early National Philadelphia (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021). JF: What led you to write Translingual Inheritance? EK: […]
David Brooks: “The hyperpopulist wing of the G.O.P. seems to be crashing through the floor of philosophic liberalism into an abyss of authoritarian impulsiveness”
The New York Times columnist is worried about American democracy. Here is a taste of Brooks’s latest piece: Liberal democracy is based on a level of optimism, faith and a sense of security. It’s based on confidence in the humanistic […]
The New Republic continues to validate evangelical conspiracy theorist Eric Metaxas
Earlier this month, The New Republic published a “debate” between conservative writer Matt Labish and court evangelical Eric Metaxas. Here is what I wrote on April 5, 2021: …let’s remember that Eric Metaxas: Appears to be an anti-vaxxer. Believes the conspiracy […]
On Josh Hawley’s brazen and cynical CPAC speech
Sometime prior to November 8, 2020, four members of the Fea household voted in the presidential election. We joined millions of Pennsylvanians who voted by mail. We are the “people” of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Our voice was heard. Missouri […]
Did American exceptionalism survive Trump?
Bloomsburg writer Mihir Sharma says that Americans shouldn’t get so uptight about apparent threats to their democracy. Maybe sometimes we need an international voice to help us keep things in perspective. Here is a taste of Sharma’s piece, “World shouldn’t […]
The liberal arts teach the “pursuit of truth and the creation of virtuous citizens in the community.” We need both more than ever.
Future American historians will wonder why at precisely the time the country needed citizens who understood citizenship, the meaning of democracy, ethics, science, historical thinking, and how to build an argument based on truth, facts, and evidence, we decided to […]
Was there voter fraud? I can’t prove it. But I believe in American institutions.
Today a Twitter follower asked: Sorry “Long Distance Swimmer Cornett,” I can’t prove there wasn’t any voter fraud. But as a citizen I have a choice to make. I can either side with Trump and his team with their endless […]
Biden’s popular mandate
Not all the votes have been counted, but Joe Biden has already received more votes for president than any other candidate in American history. Here is Jeva Lange at Yahoo News: Former Vice President Joe Biden has now received more […]