Free Republic

Is there an enduring American character? For those who view our nation as at a tipping point, the question is urgent. Others scoff, “Why?” After all, if the American character is truly enduring, it will endure — the ship eventually will right itself to the extent it is off course. And if not, history will inevitably evolve it into something better, right? My friend Mark Levin would counter that this is the wrong way to look at it. The foundation of Americanism, he posits, is natural law. That does not just spontaneously appear, nor passively persevere. Understanding our natural-law roots,...

American soldiers are training allied Afghan troops how to lie down. I don't mean anything figurative or metaphorical. I mean, literally, we're teaching battle-tested Afghan warriors how to lie flat on the ground, as in what you do when you fire your rifle in the prone position. At first I thought I was missing something. Learning how to shoot from the prone position is one of the first things you learn after basic gun safety. It also seems like common sense; in battle, one of the tricks to surviving is to make yourself as small a target as possible. Heck, ...

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote an article in the Jerusalem Post (February 10, 2005) charging that some well-known Jewish conservatives are doing incalculable harm to their people by affirming that America is a Christian nation. In a rather kvetchy column about Jews who defend the public celebration of Christmas and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ,” the rabbi rhetorically inquires: “Is it not highly misguided, not to mention erroneous, for Medved and Lapin to openly speak of America as a ‘Christian’ nation, something bound to make Jews feel like they are guests in someone else’s land.” The author here speaks of...

Remembering 9/11: by Jennifer King, Managing Editor September 11, 2002 "The Heretical Housewife" A year has passed since we watched, horrified, as terrorists launched a brutal surprise attack upon the American homeland. In the blink of an eye, moral equivalency was washed away, and hideous evil was unmasked for all to see. After the initial shock wore off, a grim resolve settled over the American people. The spontaneous burst of patriotism that erupted over the land was an outward symbol of the newfound determination of all Americans. We have seen this enemy before, and we have beaten him. We will...