Discouraging the Rise of Heroes

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We live in an age of self-interest where each looks after his own pleasure and gratification. Ours is a culture that glorifies comfort, safety and health. It exudes carefree optimism, giving us the mistaken impression that we can somehow have perfect material happiness in this valley of tears. In such a climate, the hero seems … Read more

The Modern Enemy of Our Brains

Return to Order The Modern Enemy of Our Brains

by Jacob Weymier What is the problem with the Internet and how can it hurt you? Nicholas Carr provides the answer in his book called The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. He talks about how the brain works and how the Internet makes the brain have shallower thoughts rather than deep concentration. … Read more

Fostering an Organic Society: The Value of Every Person

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Excerpt from the talk, “Fostering an Organic Society: Principles and Examples” given by James Bascom at the 2013 TFP National Conference on October 27, 2013 The first principle is that within every man there are potentialities that must be developed. Every man is born with an enormous variety of qualities, propensities, and strengths that seek … Read more

Contrasting Living Beings with Machines

Return to Order My “Return to Order” Moment in Charleston

Many authors have compared a living being with a machine to show the contrast between an organic society and an individualistic or mechanistic society. Indeed, compare the two. A living being grows and develops at its own speed according to its own inner dynamism and force that comes from the life of each cell. A … Read more

Natural and Organic Life v. Artificial & Mechanical Existence

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  A room with cleverly calculated proportions: wide enough and with a high enough ceiling to simultaneously convey the harmonious yet contrary impressions of warmth and relief. It easily accommodates the furniture, paintings, chandelier, and people with enough space for them to move about naturally, without bumping into something or someone. The furnishings are not … Read more

The World Is Not Flat

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There is an impatient restlessness inside our globalized economy that is constantly tearing down and building anew. This particular aspect of the economy is like an unstoppable machine that runs over all obstacles. To resist is considered futile. Such views are often expressed in major liberal newspapers where economic dogmas are affirmed (and discarded) almost … Read more

The Decline of Social Involvement in America

Return to Order The Decline of Social Involvement in America

The decline of social involvement has been noted as a universal phenomenon in America. Especially since the sixties, Americans are less involved in civic associations that serve to bind people together with ties of trust and confidence. Such a decline is pulling American society and economy apart.   [like url=https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToOrder.org]   Sociologist Robert Putnam notes … Read more

The History of a Tomorrow Without God

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The bestselling book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, is dangerous for Catholics of little faith. Rarely do you see a book that is so cunningly written to shake certainties and present as inevitable a stark and Godless future now being planned. The value of the book is not found in reading it. In … Read more

The Amazing Origins of the Most Beautiful Christmas Song

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Far beyond the ocean, in a valley in the Austrian Alps, lies the age-old village of Oberndorf, looking now much as it did one, two, or three hundred years ago. In the center of the village, near a swift-flowing stream, stands a whitewashed church with a tall red-topped steeple. The low houses, their slanting roofs … Read more

Christmas Outside the Box

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As I was reading an article on an online news site, I chanced upon an advertisement for a beautiful Christmas tree. Indeed, it was an actual Christmas tree, not a holiday, winter or sparkle tree that celebrates some unknown winter solstice festivity. This letter unapologetically used the word Christmas and the tree actually looked inviting … Read more