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CATEGORY: CULTURE (4 MIN)
Conservatives have long bemoaned the state of the family, criticizing parents who split or leave their children for contributing to the downfall of American culture. And mainstream America's response has not helped. Recently, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker took a public beating for his comments on the importance of mothers who serve their families in the home.
In First Things, Darren Geist voices his support for Butker’s message while adding an important corollary of his own. Geist, an attorney at a Fortune 500 company, left his lucrative job for a while to help homeschool his own children. Drawing on his own experience and spiritual arguments, Geist urges men to consider their families more important than their jobs.
For too many, Geist says, jobs have become distractions from the most vital vocation a man has. Geist found that his identity as a father breathed new life into him, and he tells other fathers not to use career “as an excuse to be absent from home.”
And, like Butker, Geist praises homemaking as a “noble and important” task that should take a prioritized place in parents’ hearts—not just moms’ hearts, but dads’ too, as part of a virtuous life.
Read Geist’s article right here.
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Weekly Poll
Do you agree with Harrison Butker’s commencement speech?
[A] Yes
[B] No
[C] Unsure
RESULTS: 5/30/24
Would you describe where you live as_____.
[A] Urban - 25%
[B] Suburban - 52.6%
[C] Exurban - 5.3%
[D] Rural - 17.1%
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CATEGORY: POLITICS (6 MIN)
At the end of last month, a jury convicted former President Donald Trump of charges connected with his payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Many progressives have reacted with smug affirmation, and many conservatives have criticized the political nature of the conviction. No matter the result of Trump’s inevitable appeal, his campaign team will now face an important choice in strategy.
Writing for The American Conservative, Daniel McCarthy—editor-in-chief of Modern Age and ISI’s Vice President for the Collegiate Network—weighs in on the options for Trump’s re-election campaign. McCarthy lays out the political landscape, noting that Trump’s most fervent supporters and opponents will be reinvigorated in their respective efforts.
Then McCarthy then focuses on two groups of undecided Americans. The first group, one that is simply looking for an alternative to President Biden, might see Trump as less electable after the trial. But McCarthy sees the second group as up for grabs. This group believes that the American system is broken and is looking for someone to identify with.
McCarthy advises the Trump campaign to avoid losing its cool and instead rely on “confidence and good humor” to win over these voters and set itself up for the best chance of victory come November.
Read McCarthy’s piece here.
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CATEGORY: VIDEO
Join us on this insightful episode of our podcast Conservative Conversations as we welcome esteemed scholar Mark David Hall to discuss his latest book, Christian Nationalism: Myth and Reality. Hall, a leading expert on the American Founding and religion's role in public life, delves into the controversial and often misunderstood concept of Christian Nationalism.
In this engaging conversation, Hall addresses critical questions such as: What is Christian Nationalism? How has it shaped American history and politics? Are the Founding Fathers' principles rooted in Christian beliefs? Through a nuanced exploration, Hall separates myths from historical truths, providing listeners with a well-rounded understanding of this complex topic.
Whether you're a student of history, a scholar, or simply interested in the intersection of faith and politics, this episode offers valuable insights into the ongoing debate over America's religious and cultural identity. Tune in to gain a deeper perspective on how Christian Nationalism continues to influence contemporary discourse.
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ISI's Annual
Homecoming Weekend
Join ISI on September 20-21, 2024, for a garden party that’ll welcome students, professors, alumni, and friends of ISI from across the country.
Every year, we host ISI’s annual Homecoming festivities right on our 20-acre campus tucked away into a bucolic pocket of Wilmington, DE. Our Homecoming sets the tone for the new school year and is an opportunity to celebrate and network with our impressive community of students, teachers, alumni, and professionals from a variety of backgrounds.
Official Homecoming Schedule:
Friday, September 20 (6:30 pm – 11 pm)
Guests will gather at ISI’s campus for a reception, bonfire, and open house
Saturday, September 21
Guests will gather at ISI's Campus for an 8:00 am breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 am: Reagan and Nixon Revisited
10:30 am: The Democratization of American Christianity
Top 20 under 30 Awards Ceremony
12:00 – 1:15 pm: God and Man at Yale 2024
1:15 pm: Lunch and festivities begin
Reserve your ticket>>>
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Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.
Javier Milei Comes to Stanford via The Stanford Review
“This past Wednesday, President of Argentina and libertarian firebrand Javier Milei came to speak at Stanford for an event hosted by the Hoover Institution and the Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Classical Liberalism Initiative. You can find the full Javier Milei Stanford speech here with English subtitles, as well as a Twitter/X thread summarizing the speech here. His address comes at a perilous
time in Argentina's history as the nation has grappled with debt crises and inflation for decades, needing to be bailed out by the IMF several times, despite once being one of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita during the earlier part of the 20th century. Nearly a century of statist or “Peronist” policies, such as command-and-control regulation and export controls, have devastated Argentina’s economy. Argentina's Gross Domestic Product per capita stands at $13,650 as of 2022, versus $76,329 in the United States.”
IU Faces Another First Amendment Lawsuit via The Collegiate Commons
“Speech First filed a lawsuit against Indiana University yesterday, claiming they violated students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The nonprofit claims that the university’s Bias Incident Policy is far-reaching enough to be unconstitutional and “designed to deter, discourage, and otherwise prevent students from expressing disfavored views about the political and social issues of the day.”
Earlier this month, the ACLU of Indiana also filed a lawsuit against IU, alleging they violated the free speech rights of student, faculty, and community protestors by temporarily banning them from campus property for violating university policy.”
Discussion at University of Amsterdam Featuring UChicago Professor Emeritus Canceled over Speakers’ Views on Israel-Hamas via The Chicago Thinker
“On Tuesday, May 14, Bètabreak, the science discussion platform of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science (FNWI) at the University of Amsterdam, canceled a discussion centered on a paper co-authored by University of Chicago professor emeritus Jerry Coyne titled “The ideological subversion of biology” due to the opinions of two speakers on the Israel-Hamas war.
Coyne, a professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolution and author of the bestselling book Why Evolution is True, was due to speak at the event on Friday, May 17, alongside Maarten Boudry, a Flemish philosopher and skeptic, and Michael Richardson, professor of evolutionary developmental zoology at Leiden University. In an official communication, Bètabreak remarked that “many of the members in the committee did not feel comfortable giving Dr. Coyne and Dr. Boudry a platform given their stances on the Palestine/Israel conflict. Another fear is how it would reflect on us as a committee and that we might be blackballed at UvA/AUC.” |
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CATEGORY: CULTURE (25 MIN)
The world of American mass media has left conservatives behind for quite some time. Some organizations have tried to create TV shows and movies that push back against the mainstream liberal current. But by and large, these efforts have not taken root in the U.S., and most media corporations remain in the hands of progressives. The same is true of academic and artistic institutions.
In this week’s article from the Modern Age website, Claes G. Ryn discusses a failing on the part of conservatives—the failing to capture ideas and imagination. Ryn says conservatives have focused much attention on shaping public policy and law, but in doing so, they have neglected an important aspect of what makes a nation work. This “politicizing trend” had good aspects, Ryn grants, but it led to “ambivalence” about the arts.
Now, Ryn notes that the minds and imaginations of the American populace have fallen prey to the opinions of people with a dangerous worldview. He calls for a response without a political aim.
“An authentic revitalization of will, imagination, and reason would deepen and enrich human existence as an end in itself, not serve a particular political agenda,” Ryn writes.
Ryn asks for conservatives to take their chances with great artists and thinkers of “conscience.” Do you agree? Read his full article here.
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Thought of the Day:
“I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said."
- William F. Buckley
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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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