The modern U.S. foreign policy establishment is animated by the view that America has a responsibility to protect innocent people around the world from oppressive rulers. In his Second Inaugural Address, for example, George W. Bush captured this sentiment when he declared that America has a duty to promote “the growth of democratic movements and…
In Federalist 51, James Madison writes, “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls of government would be necessary.” As Madison implies, the Founders built external and internal controls on government into the Constitution—popular elections, separation of powers, checks and balances—because men, unlike angels, cannot be trusted with unchecked power. The Progressives…
In addition to building anticipation for the Independence Day celebration, the concluding days of June routinely usher in consequential Supreme Court decisions that alter the country’s legal trajectory. Continuing that trend this year, the Supreme Court declared on June 29 that college admissions practices that utilize race-based affirmative action violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection…
Religious freedom is a fundamental maxim of American life. The Founders viewed it as one of the most important rights of a free person. Even today, it is one of the few things that nearly everyone can still agree is essential to free government. But what is the meaning of religious liberty? In a recent…
A common refrain from “conservatives” today is that, “I don’t think government should legislate morality.” Many of these people think that government should avoid wading into cultural battles. Or maybe they’re appealing to the idea that the Bill of Rights erects a “wall of separation” between church and state. Either way, they seem to miss…
The feminist movement has largely been portrayed as a battle of men against women. In “The American Left: From Liberalism to Despotism,” Dr. Slack explains that while there was intense opposition to the feminist movement, the opponents were not whom you might expect. He says, I would submit that the myth of feminism is that…
Ballots or bullets: these are the two primary ways that political power has been established or changed hands for centuries. The Founders well knew from history that bullets—or the use of force—typically resolve the all too common disputes over who gets to rule. Alexander Hamilton famously argued in Federalist No. 1, however, that America could…
America’s understanding of equality today varies widely depending on whom you ask. Various versions of egalitarianism have permeated the American mind. Many today desire a kind of forced equality upon everyone. It’s not enough for interest and identity groups to get special preferences. Now the privileged need to be knocked down a peg too. Kurt…
Why is there evil in the world? From a Christian perspective, the answer begins with sin, a transgression against the law of God. Sin alienates the sinner from God and requires redemption in Christ. As a consequence of Adam and Eve sinning by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the…
If you did not know your own birthday, when would you celebrate it? No one knows the date Frederick Douglass was born. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, his first autobiography, Douglass writes: “I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. . . . A…