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Moral Revolutions in America

In a recent article, Yale professor David Gelernter noted that modern America had “two extraordinary accomplishments: victory in the Cold War and the all-but-eradication of race prejudice in a single generation … .” The back story of the latter is worth pondering around Independence Day. When I was growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, everything and everyone around me was segregated. Five years before I was born, local idiots vociferously insulted Jackie Robinson when he came to town with the Montreal Royals, prior to his debut in Brooklyn… . Continue Reading »

Toward the Diamond Path

Recently I came across two items which superficially would seem to have nothing at all to do with each other. The first was an advertisement: a religious sister was promoting a women’s retreat about “finding oneself” and “coming to a place of ‘centered’ peace.” Highlighted within the ad was a sort of inverted pyramid using decreasing-sized fonts to illustrate exactly how Sister intended to lead these women back to themselves, and center their peace … Continue Reading »

A Story From Before We Can Remember: A Review of Tree of Life

A young son in Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life asks his mother, “Tell us a story from before we can remember.” Malick begins his story even earlier by telling the story from before we can remember. With visually arresting imagery and a mesmerizing musical score, a lengthy opening sequence traces the history of the universe, from initial explosion and expansion through the formation of galaxies and planets to the formation of earth and the development of life on what the philosopher Charles DeKonnick calls a “poor little planet born of a catastrophe.” … Continue Reading »

America’s Atheocracy

G. K. Chesterton said famously that America is “a nation with the soul of a church.” And he believed the Declaration of Independence formed the substance of our national soul. But as we celebrate this Fourth of July, we need to recognize that some of the deepest problems in our public life can be traced to our collective neglect of America’s great founding document. The Declaration establishes our common self-identity as Americans… . Continue Reading »

Violent Video Games and the Rights of Parents

Twelve years have passed, but very few Coloradans have forgotten the name of Columbine High School. I spent the days after the April 20, 1999, Columbine school massacre with my brother priests, burying the dead, visiting the families of victims and trying to make sense of the violence to the wider community… . Continue Reading »

Wrong Today, Perhaps Right Tomorrow

On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. In a 7-2 decision, the Court struck down the California law that prohibited the sale or rental of “violent video games” to minors. The law sought only to restrict minors’ access to graphically violent video games without parental consent… . Continue Reading »

In Defense of Disgusting Speech

On Monday, the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, striking down on First Amendment grounds a California statute prohibiting the sale of certain violent video games to minors without parental consent. The configuration of Justices was unusual … Continue Reading »

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