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CATEGORY: CULTURE (3 MIN)
In the 1800s, the U.S. embarked on a huge program of western expansion, settling countless plots of land and tripling the size of the nation. Families and opportunists alike caravanned through vast uncharted territories to carve out new lives for themselves. But some thinkers believe effects of this massive move harmed the newly created American culture—creating issues that persist to this day.
Bruce Frohnen, writing for The Imaginative Conservative, discusses three corrosive phenomena that emerged from western expansion. Frohnen begins with the aggressive displacement of Native Americans, especially the forcible ejection of the Cherokee by Andrew Jackson. Although the frontier saw horrific acts on both sides, Frohnen notes that the constant expansive pressure of a government who cared not for native welfare surely impacted American morality.
He then moves to the Jeffersonian system of land division. Instead of allowing Americans to build tidy and ordered towns, Jefferson and his followers urged huge blocks of equal land for individual families, which, Frohenen believes, left many suffering from loneliness and continues to cause poverty today. Frohnen says this Francophile strategy destroyed the good tendency to naturally cluster together in community.
And on that note, Frohnen also bashes the Homestead Act, which set thousands of Americans up for failed experiments in land ownership in the barren wilderness. This, too, created isolation and loneliness, Frohnen contends, further harming our cultural identity.
Discover Frohnen’s full thoughts right here.
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Weekly Poll
RESULTS: 9/21/23
Last week, we asked: Is Civil Rights Legislation still necessary in 2023? Here are the results:
[A] Yes - 20.9%
[B] No - 72.1%
[C] Unsure - 7%
Have Evangelical Churches become too woke?
[A] Yes
[B] No
[C] Unsure
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CATEGORY: RELIGION (10 MIN)
As U.S. culture changed over time, the evangelical movement depended on strong personalities to build influence with the average American. Important figures like John Piper, John MacArthur, and the late Tim Keller became leading lights for Protestants of the 1990s–2010s. But facing the rise of woke culture and a growing political distaste for Christianity, how have these top evangelicals responded?
In Chronicles, Stephen Wolfe criticizes the “evangelical elite” for their leftward drift in the past decade, highlighting many pastors’ welcoming responses to the BLM movement and COVID restrictions. He argues the seeds for this drift were sown by the political neutrality of the leadership of much of the evangelical movement.
The breaking point, Wolfe says, came when many of these theological minds slammed President Trump and his supporters for racism and a lack of compassion. He particularly attacks Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition for their positions. With few exceptions, Wolfe claims the elite adopted a “loser theology” which has no place in the current cultural moment and has led to their demise.
Instead, Wolfe proposes that Christians face a strict dichotomy between pagan nationalism and Christian nationalism—one where the middle ground has disappeared. Do you agree? Read Wolfe’s entire piece right here to learn more.
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CATEGORY: PODCAST EPISODE
Jesse Merriam, professor of constitutional studies at Patrick Henry College, joins the podcast to talk about how we got our antiracist Constitution, how Brown v. Board’s jurisprudence unleashed a diversity regime that has usurped the written Constitution and the principles of a free society, what we can expect for the future of affirmative action in light of the recent Supreme Court decisions challenging affirmative action.
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American Economic Forum
November 1st, 2023
ISI invites you to our 2023 American Economic Forum to hear leading conservative economists, political leaders, and intellectuals discuss how to untangle the American economic crisis. Join us on November 1st at the Catholic University of America for a discussion of the central economic issues that we face today and how to chart a better course for a more prosperous, humane economy.
You’ll hear panels and lectures on a range of important topics such as AI, social capital, immigration and wages, American economic history, and more.
Students can register for this conference FOR FREE. Reserve your seat here!
Join us in Washington, DC >>>
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Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.
New BYU President Echoes Prophetic Call to Have the “Courage to Stand Alone” via The Cougar Chronicle
“Echoing the words of Prophets and Apostles, President Reese declared that ‘Becoming BYU will require at times the courage to stand alone.’ This renewed focus on BYU’s divine mission comes at a time when BYU’s commitment to eternal truths and its unique Honor Code are viewed as controversial by academic peers.“
FIRE speaker visits Cornell, gives talk on free expression via Cornell Review
“On September 18, Connor Murnane, Director of Engagement and Mobilization at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), presented a talk on free speech... Murnane contends that it is important for college campuses to build a free speech culture.”
Gina M. Raimondo Comes to the Ford School via Michigan Review
“US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo visited the Ford School of Public Policy on September 22 as part of the Policy Talks at the Ford School series. In a discussion with Professor Betsey Stevenson, Raimondo addressed climate change, economic competition with China, education, national security, protectionism, the semiconductor sector, and the state of American manufacturing."
UVA’s FIRE Ranking Released: Grounds is alive with self-censorship, not civil discourse via The Jefferson Independent
“FIRE [The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression] recently published the 2024 College Free Speech Rankings, ranking UVA as No. 6 nationally for freedom of expression... Yet.. when one takes a deeper dive into the results, the responses highlight a student experience distinctly disparate from the one that is insinuated with the overall ranking of being sixth in the nation...”
Takeaways from Socialism Conference 2023: Labor Is In, Peaceniks Are Out via The Chicago Thinker
“Socialism Conference 2023 took place in Chicago over Labor Day weekend... I donned the mandatory mask to attend the last day of the conference and took notes for the Thinker.” |
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CATEGORY: RELIGION (11 MIN)
The evangelicals who first expressed opposition to Trump did so mostly on a moral basis. They pointed to checkered elements of his personal past, his sometimes-crude comments, and his overall demeanor, which some Protestants considered un-Christlike. The movement continues today, as many Christians claim Trump cannot represent them on the public stage.
For this week’s Intercollegiate Review archive, D. G. Hart replies to these evangelicals, specifically two books they wrote. Hart reviews The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump and Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, by Peter Wehner and John Fea, respectively. He criticizes Wehner and Fea for excessive idealism in the face of political reality.
The writers compare Trump to the model of the Christian life and find Trump lacking—Hart replies that the same standards are not necessarily required for the political realm and the spiritual realm.
“The difference between the church and the state lowers hopes for enacting justice in this world and raises them for the world to come, the eschaton,” Hart writes. “But evangelicals typically immanentize the eschaton. That is, they try to realize the ideals of the world to come in the here-and-now.”
Read Hart’s thoughts right here.
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Thought of the Day:
“There are two things a person should never be angry at: What they can help, and what they cannot.”
- Plato
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Join ISI’s new Alumni Giving Club
It’s never been easier for you to support our mission—and stay part of our community—with ISI’s new Alumni Giving Club!
For just $19.53 a month, you can join the fight and “pay it forward” by educating the next generation for ordered liberty.
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