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CATEGORY: CULTURE (17 MIN)
For many young American men in the past century, the Boy Scouts were a formative part of life. Outdoor adventures, friendships, and hands-on skills all came from time spent in the Scouts. But drastic shifts shook the organization in recent years, starting with sexual abuse scandals and resulting reforms, continuing with the decision to accept female Scouts, and ending with controversial name changes.
Heather Mac Donald, writing in City Journal, discusses the structural changes to the Boy Scouts that might have been a little more behind the scenes, and she connects them to nationwide cultural issues in America today. Mac Donald points out that the Boy Scouts hired a “Chief Diversity Officer & Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion,” thus paving the way for “diversity ideology.” Mac Donald lists the effects of this ideology on the Scouts: affinity groups, required DEI badges, hiring quotas, an emphasis on sexual orientation, and much more.
She also argues that an overall devaluing of males has led to the weakening of the Boy Scouts. Mac Donald says the fatherlessness epidemic, the portrayal of poor male role models in pop culture, and the government’s failure to address lost males are all connected to the Scouts’ changes. She urges the organization to stop teaching identity politics instead of the value of virtue and self-discipline.
Read her full article here.
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Weekly Poll
Are you happy with the direction of the Boy Scouts organization?
[A] Yes
[B] No
[C] Not sure
RESULTS: 7/25/24
Have you spent more time on social media over the past month?
[A] Yes - 17.1%
[B] No - 44.3%
[C] Not sure - 2.9%
[D] Don't have social media - 35.7%
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CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL (9 MIN)
Today, many pundits and activists throw the word “genocide” around lightly, using it to refer to the actions of nations they disagree with. But throughout history, actual genocides have taken the lives of millions of people in countries across the globe. In the 1990s, one such brutal campaign claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Rwanda.
More than a thousand more Rwandans might have died, though, if not for the actions of Paul Rusesabagina—a man whose heroic actions were memorialized in the movie Hotel Rwanda. For National Review, Jay Nordlinger writes on his conversation with Rusesabagina, discussing Rusesabagina’s trials and tribulations both during and after the genocide.
Rusesabagina told Nordlinger that throughout his time sheltering Tutsis, he was shocked that he continued to live on. But he kept on talking to potential killers, deflecting their attention, bribing them, and convincing them to avoid murder that day.
Even though Rusesabagina survived the genocide and later escaped the country, his journey didn’t end there. In 2020, after years of safety, Rwandan officials captured Rusesabagina, gave him a sham trial, and tortured him. Again, Rusesabagina thought he was doomed. But after three years, he was miraculously released. He told Nordlinger he credits international pressure on Rwanda for his freedom.
Read Rusesabagina’s entire story—and learn about his unshaken faith—right here.
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CATEGORY: VIDEO
In this episode of Conservative Conversations, Dr. Shawn Phillip Cooper unpacks the key characters and plot points that make up the legendary tales of King Arthur and his knights.
Discover the historical origins of the Arthurian legend and how it has been interwoven with various European traditions over the centuries. Dr. Cooper sheds light on how stories of chivalry, heroism, and the quest for the Holy Grail have evolved, influenced by French, Welsh, and English sources, creating a complex tapestry of myth and history.
Additionally, we explore the profound impact of the Arthurian legend on British self-identity. From its medieval roots to its role in shaping national pride and cultural heritage, King Arthur’s story continues to resonate in the British imagination.
Tune in to understand why the legend of King Arthur endures as a powerful symbol of virtue, leadership, and national identity. Don’t miss this enlightening discussion with one of the foremost experts on medieval literature.
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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.
Donald Trump Accepts GOP Nomination After Assassination Attempt via The W&L Spectator
“Washington and Lee’s Mock Convention is a 112-year-old tradition in which students replicate the national convention for whichever party does not hold the presidency. It is the nation’s most accurate mock presidential nominating convention, correctly predicting the Republican nominee every year since 1948. This year was no different. The Republican National Convention ended Thursday with a speech in which former President Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination for a third time. Washington and Lee’s Mock Convention prediction was accurate once again. Trump’s
RNC speech, however, came just five days after an assassination attempt which shocked the American electorate. The tragic event occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, leaving one dead, another two injured, and Trump with a bullet wound to the ear.”
How Harvard Made Me a Better Conservative via The Harvard Salient
“Coming to Harvard for the first time was a jarring experience. I was raised in rural America—fewer people live in my hometown than in my dorm—and I had never visited the Northeast. As my plane touched down in Boston, my mind swam with the different visions of campus I had fabricated from a virtual tour. These idyllic pictures of Harvard’s ivy-covered walls, however, quickly dissipated as I dashed across a busy Massachusetts Avenue, lost in the bustle of gaping tourists and chattering students. Don’t get me wrong; I was still a starry-eyed freshman marveling at Harvard’s grandeur. But I could tell there was something missing from Harvard—something I would struggle to articulate for months. Nevertheless, I eagerly followed the crowd, faintly acknowledging the inscription above Dexter Gate: “Enter to grow in wisdom.” Little did I reckon with the moral weight and
responsibility that comes with such a charge. Just like I needed to turn around to read the rest of the gate’s inscription, “Depart to serve better thy country and thy kind,” I would need to look back on my past to better understand the foundation of my beliefs.”
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CATEGORY: PHILOSOPHY (8 MIN)
As society continues to specialize and rely on technology more and more, it’s harder for true Renaissance men and women to find a way to thrive. No longer does the occupation section of a resume contain multiple entries. But looking to our not-too-distant past reveals a few polymaths who left a long-lasting influence on society.
One of these men was G. K. Chesterton, a British philosopher, poet, author, apologist, and critic from the early 20th century. For this week’s article from the Modern Age website, we travel back to a 1979 article reviewing a 1977 book: G. K. Chesterton: Radical Populist by Margaret Canovan. The reviewer, the late professor Frederick D. Wilhelmsen, dug into Canovan’s contentions and Chesterton’s defense of the little man and societal institution against the upper class.
Wilhelmsen discussed the relationship between Chesterton’s work and the different strands of Christian philosophical thought. He also noted that Chesterton could not find a political home in the UK, yet he describes Chesterton’s beliefs as having “adamantine simplicity.”
“Chesterton is eloquence given the dumb; elegance, the awkward; erudition, the unlettered,” Wilhelmsen wrote. “He thunders in the name of a humanity that dared not, even could not, utter its own name in the soulless squalor of industrial blight and ugliness.”
Read Wilhelmsen’s ode to Chesterton on the Modern Age website here.
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Thought of the Day:
“It is the great parent of science & of virtue: and that a nation will be great in both, always in proportion as it is free.”
- Thomas Jefferson
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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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