Free Republic

This week, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson generated a veritable firestorm over his pitch for a new brand of American populism. In truth, his brand of populism isn’t particularly new — it’s a merger of Pat Buchanan–era paleoconservatism and Bush-era compassionate conservatism. It’s an attempt to rally government behind preferred conservative causes — rebuilding the family chief among them — rather than recognizing that government is typically an obstacle to those causes; it’s an attempt to fill a gap in the soul with a policy-based solution.Here’s Carlson’s explanation of markets: Market capitalism is a tool, like a staple gun or a...

"...I have bad news for you. No one is going to end school shootings because schools shootings are not the real problem. So be prepared for them to get worse and to not be limited to schools. When your culture falls apart, the people in it fall apart. Some of them turn into TrigglyPuff. Some turn into Nikolas Cruz. But what did we expect was going to happen? That’s not a rhetorical question, except in the sense that no one really thought to ask it... We built a culture in which celebrity is our highest aspiration..."

Blessed are the Pure of Heart – A Reflection on an Often Misunderstood Beatitude and Virtue Msgr. Charles Pope • May 18, 2016 • This post is a kind of follow-up to yesterday’s reflection from the Letter of James, in which we were summoned away from our double-minded ways.One of the beatitudes taught by Jesus is often misunderstood, largely due to the popular translations of it from the Greek text: “Blessed are the pure of heart,” or “Blessed are the clean of heart.” Let’s look at three facets of the beatitude: its fundamental meaning, its focus, and the freedom...

The spark for this squib is fear, a fear of not just where our once republic is going, but where it is. A government designed to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, (and) promote the general welfare,” not only doesn’t work toward these ends, it promotes policies that operate in direct opposition to them. The high criminals of the Obama administration will never be subject to the justice they deserve. Occupy Wallstreet, Black Lives Matter, and DNC supported riots at Trump rallies foment discord rather than ensure domestic tranquility. Common Defense? Purposely importing koranimals undermines the...

I recently dusted off an old friend: Gordon S. Wood’s The Creation of the American Republic 1776 – 1787*. His research in the newspapers, pamphlets and sermons of the Revolutionary era led him to appreciate how complicated the creation of American political and constitutional structure really was. The individualistic and rights-oriented culture of today was not emphasized at all in 1776. No, the radical republicanism of the era stressed hostility to corruption of all sorts, and emphasized the importance of virtue for the public good. Perhaps everyone in the eighteenth century could have agreed that in theory no State was...

On the Virtue of Holy Silence Before the Mysteries of God -- A Meditation on the Silence Imposed upon Zechariah Msgr. Charles Pope • December 15, 2015 • As we move toward the conclusion of the Advent season, we ponder the events surrounding Christ's birth. The penultimate focus is the events leading up to the birth of St. John the Baptist, and in particular, the narrative of Zechariah and Elizabeth. While there are certainly many teachings to be drawn from this passage, there is value in pondering the imposition of silence upon Zechariah. This aspect of the story is particularly...

We’ve all heard the term “evil genius,” maybe even used it a few times. This moniker is generally used to refer to infamous political figures in history who were able to amass great personal power, acquire or expand empires, or fundamentally alter the course of history while callously and cynically disregarding the incalculable pain, suffering, dislocation, economic destruction, and myriad forms of devastation left in the wake of their pursuit of glory or some utopian dream. Adolph Hitler is the person most often characterized as an evil genius, with Josef Stalin a distant second. There are still German and Russian...

Supposed sages in academe and beyond have been trying to create a schism between Libertarianism and conservatism that need not exist. M. Stanton Evans on Freedom and Virtue “Freedom and virtue have declined together and must rise together,” author M. Stanton Evans wrote in 1964. At the time Evans was the editor of the Indianapolis News. “So far are ‘value’ and ‘conformity’ from being identical that the second can rise to its current distasteful height only when the first declines,” Evans averred in an essay which appeared in the 1964 anthology, What is Conservatism? “A man without the interior armor...

Fortitude, Patience, and Meekness: Three Virtues We Often Separate, but That Belong Together Msgr. Charles Pope • July 20, 2015 • There is an important interplay and balance between the virtues that many modern minds set in opposition to one another. False dichotomies often prevail when the subtlety of virtues are lost or their meanings are grasped in simplistic or inaccurate ways.Consider three virtues that are related and which enable and moderate one other: fortitude, patience, and meekness. To most people, these virtues seem more opposed than related. Today, fortitude conjures up an image of a fearless warrior in battle,...

It’s not a “Mad Max” world into which students are graduating, but it’s a mad, mad one, fraught with genocidal fanaticism, proliferating scandals and morally deficient leadership. As terrorists claimed swaths of Iraq and Syria for the Islamic State, and “death to America”-seeking Iran crept closer to nuclear-weapons capability, recent headlines featured indictments of international soccer officials at FIFA and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Distrust of civil institutions pervades society. Meanwhile, the conflicts of interest surrounding Hillary Clinton prompted CNN’s Jon King to note, “You can’t go 20 minutes ... without some story ... that gives you...

When a society abandons these virtues, the people become corrupt, and unwilling to abide by the rule of law. A viciousness blankets the people, which leads to violence and lawlessness Benjamin Franklin emphasized that without virtue, free societies could not properly function. He said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” With freedom comes responsibility. The responsible society is one that is virtuous. A man with virtue is a man that possesses “sacred honor.” It is for the sake of a free society that men must deny...

Tolerance Has Its Place, But Also Its Limits – A Brief Consideration of a Widely Misunderstood Virtue By: Msgr. Charles PopeYesterday we discussed the intolerance of the very radicals who are forever calling for tolerance. A couple of people wrote in to indicate that they consider my stance duplicitous, since I likely support Archbishop Cordeleone’s stance requiring Catholic School teachers to demonstrate loyalty to Catholic teachings and promise not to teach to the contrary in Catholic schools. I do in fact support the good Archbishop. But I do not accept the charge of duplicity.Why? Because, as I hope to teach, tolerance is...

Recently, I was temporarily placed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's watch list for extremism simply because I vocally support traditional marriage. I remember thinking: When did advocating for lifelong love between one man and one woman become a hate crime? Fortunately, the group saw the folly of its ways and apologized, removing me from the list. It was a small battle, a blip in the daily life of someone who has entered the political arena. And I enjoyed the support of many who rallied in the conservative media to my cause to help reverse such a silly distinction. But...

Virtue: A habitual and firm disposition to do the good. Cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Traditional male virtues are strength, courage, independence, heroism in combat, and sexual initiative. For many years, Jesus has been portrayed as a Galilean flower child, walking around the countryside being nice, preaching love and peace, and having a thing for Mary Magdalene. Somehow, this easygoing hippie runs afoul of the corrupt power structure, and ends up dying with career criminals, under horrible circumstances. Of course, even a casual reading of the Gospels reveals something far different. If anything, Jesus is a confrontational,...

This summer has served as a reminder to me about the virtue of virtues, specifically hard work and perseverance. Last winter, our 12-year-old son, Robert, was accepted into an honors performance group as a string bass player, based on his teacher's recommendation and an MP3 submission of his playing. In May, he was sent four pieces of music to master by late June, when he was to perform them in New York. It was not easy. The music arrived late, and his summer schedule was already mostly filled with plans for a vacation and camp -- but the music had...

A WORD FOR THE INTERCESSORS AND THE BODY OF CHRIST You are the Gem of my eye , the jewel in my crown I take great pride in wearing , for in your meekness and forlorn I have taken great pleasure and even now you sit by my side and walk under my lamp of righteousness I hold before you as you walk in my way , I see your instability with hope for mankind as your heart cries for me to pour out my love on the needy and poor and into the hearts of others to disperse hatred...

"If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please." -- Epictetus "The world is full of people who will help you manufacture tornados in order to blow out a match." -- Shaun Hick There are few things on the planet more necessary than water. In fact, roughly 60% of the human body is water. Yet, water isn't ALWAYS a good thing as Noah could tell you. Virtues can be like this as well. In moderation, they're good for you, but taken to extremes, they become destructive. 1) Tolerance: A little tolerance is a good thing,...

Jenelle Evans, 22, had an abortion this year. Originally featured on MTV four years ago as a pregnant teenager, Evans, who loves to party, had a son, gave the son to her mother to raise, got into heroin, got married and went to jail; her husband ended up in jail as well on drug charges. They got divorced. He didn't know that Evans was pregnant. She got an abortion. He found out about it on the commercials for "Teen Mom 2." Now she's pregnant again. With a third guy. Who may or may not be seeing another woman on the...

NEW YORK CITY, NY --- The Episcopal Church's COO, Bishop Stacy Sauls announced this week that Katharine Jefferts Schori, the church's Presiding Bishop, had "abolished sin" after well-known intellectual and gay theological heavy-weight Bishop Gene Robinson wrote that she had effectively done so through her words and beliefs. The exchange took place following a meeting of Integrity, the rambunctious, noisy Episcopal Gay organization, following a night on the town (NYC) that was described by one participant as "a night of unbridled debauchery and lechery" in memory of the now deceased Bishop Otis Charles, the first outed gay TEC bishop. The...

It is that time of year to evaluate your life, to examine behaviors, and to determine how to make the next year better. Today's commentary shows us how Planned Parenthood plans to spend its next year – and future years. Are you committed to making the world a better place or to merely watching what happens in the world? How will you resolve to act this coming year? FILTHY: obscene, vile, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, pornographic, raunchy, vulgar In other words, not a very nice wish for the new year. But that is exactly what Planned Parenthood is offering our...