Of all the places I’ve worked and played in my life, the politest one, the one where people were the most courteous and quiet, was a boxing gym in Decatur, Georgia. I hung out there for two years when I was in my early fifties, the boxing workouts being just right for an older guy. If you take it . . . . Continue Reading »
Birmingham has been known as the “City of Perpetual Promise,” but the promise is only perpetual because the city never quite lives up to it. Continue Reading »
Politics dissolves into brutality unless it’s infused with apolitical habits and virtues—humility, gentleness, forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, charity, love. Continue Reading »
Why do a growing number of young people feel that they have permission to kill? Continue Reading »
Heather Mac Donald discusses how America’s high out-of-wedlock birthrate is at the heart of inner-city violence today. Continue Reading »
The First Things Podcast, Episode 31. Featuring: Rusty Reno on Charlottesville and Matthew Schmitz on Convertgate. Continue Reading »
There are actually three certainties in life. There is death. There are taxes. And there are riots. Continue Reading »
Children are not exposed to enough violence. Yes, I know the grim statistics, how a child who enters middle school has already witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other violent acts on TV. As he and his friends enter adolescence, they take up first-person shooter video games. In college, he becomes . . . . Continue Reading »
A book by Donald Ray Pollock is always an entertaining ride, by turns riveting, hilarious, revolting, and poignant. But reading Pollock can be surreal if you grew up a mile down the road from him in Knockemstiff, Ohio. Continue Reading »
As the Republican National Convention gets underway, and anxiety mounts over protests and public safety in Cleveland, it’s worthwhile to reflect on Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati’s brand of political activism. Continue Reading »
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