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The Clancy Case and Modern Motherhood
In recent days, the trial of Lindsay Clancy has captured the nation’s attention. Clancy is accused of strangling her three young children, and her attorneys have not disputed that she committed the murders. But the attorneys also argue that Clancy should be found not guilty by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis as the cause. The trial has provoked visceral reactions across social media—both for and against Clancy.
For First Things, Ashley Frawley examines [ [link removed] ] these reactions, especially among women online who spin true-crime-style theories arguing that Clancy’s husband, not Clancy, committed the murders. Frawley believes that these women have convinced themselves that Clancy couldn’t have killed her children because they identify with her so strongly in other aspects of their lives. She theorizes that they “feel abandoned by their husbands and society,” and that they see themselves reflected in Clancy’s diaries, which have been revealed during the trial.
Frawley says this phenomenon reveals something troubling about the state of modern motherhood. She points out that many parents obsess over getting everything exactly right while raising their children, blaming themselves for any flaw in their kids’ outcomes. This excessive “crushing weight,” she argues, is what drives such extreme reactions, like the pinning of murder on an innocent man.
Read Frawley’s full essay here [ [link removed] ].
“True Empathy” and the Horror of Reality
Perhaps one reason that the Clancy trial has become so viral is that Americans love consuming horrific stories. For whatever reason, terror and tragedy sell. And it seems the horror movies and scary tales that have saturated the minds of millions of Americans have shaped the way we view real tragedies.
In a piece for The Free Press on the Clancy trial, Kat Rosenfield argues [ [link removed] ] that the modern perspective on terrible crimes has led observers to excuse Clancy’s actions rather than take the time to understand the complicated truth of her deeds. Rosenfield sorts those who have defended Clancy into two camps: the conspiracy theorists who blame her husband, and the more “compassionate” camp, who blame mental illness and the American medical system. Rosenfield examines the likely motivations behind each position, noting that both ultimately seek to absolve Clancy of personal guilt.
But Rosenfield doesn’t think absolution is the right response. She believes that, instead of resorting to a gross simplification that strips the individual of guilt, Americans should be willing to understand the complexity of a perpetrator’s disturbed mind while remaining appalled by the crimes she commits. As Rosenfield puts it, “One need not believe that Clancy is a monster to acknowledge that she is a murderer.”
What do you think? Read Rosenfield’s article here [ [link removed] ] to learn more.
Compendium
Every article we feature here is available to read for free. Articles from paywalled publications are available through gift links.
Dan McCarthy on why Charlie Kirk’s enemies are still obsessed with him [ [link removed] ] in Chronicles Magazine.
Adrian Vermeule on the declining standards for legal scholarship [ [link removed] ] in The New Digest.
Max Klinger on how academia has been replaced with activism [ [link removed] ] in his Substack.
Scott Greer on the overestimation of Gen Z’s right-wing renaissance [ [link removed] ] in his Substack.
John Fechtel on “non-coercive” eugenics and the definition of choice [ [link removed] ] in The New Atlantis.
Christopher Rufo and Kenneth Schrupp on the ten California unions that collected $1 billion in dues [ [link removed] ] in City Journal.
Nathan Cofnas on his suspension from Ghent University after breaking the Arday story [ [link removed] ] in The Wall Street Journal.
Victor Davis Hanson on the decision to drop atomic bombs during WWII [ [link removed] ] in American Greatness.
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ISI just launched its new debate series, Fault Lines. Each debate brings together two conservative scholars to discuss the political, cultural, and intellectual questions dividing the right.
Episode 1 [ [link removed] ] features Dan McCarthy and Christopher Caldwell on the legacy of Trumpism. Has Donald Trump advanced or undermined this ideology? What will remain of it after he leaves office?
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Avoiding Assured Destruction
To many young Americans, the Cold War might sound like ancient history. But in the timeline of world events, it’s a not-so-distant memory. Less than 40 years ago, the world lived in constant fear that two great global superpowers would send the Earth into a nuclear holocaust. If we want to understand our present reality, we can’t forget the Cold War.
For this week’s article from Modern Age, Jack Hunter reviews [ [link removed] ] the new movie The Brink of War, which portrays the 1986 meeting between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland. Reagan and Gorbachev famously developed a warm relationship over time, one that helped lead to nuclear de-escalation and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union.
Hunter believes The Brink of War does an excellent job depicting the tense meetings between the two leaders, especially how each man was plagued by fear. The film, Hunter says, succeeds in capturing the drama of these historic events, presenting “what often looks like a two-man stage play” with “palpable” suspense. He argues the moments on display cemented Reagan’s legacy as the leader who finally brought the Cold War to a close.
Read Hunter’s full review here [ [link removed] ] on the Modern Age website.
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“The West will not contain communism; it will transcend communism.” —Ronald Reagan

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