Passengers, customers or whatever you want to call them are welcome to ride in the New York City transport system. Just don’t call them ladies or gentlemen. The city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has outlawed the expression in yet another bizarre episode of the politically correct Culture War. “Ladies and gentlemen” is not inclusive enough for … Read more
The proper use of technology is that it should be a means to serve us and make our lives easier. A key requirement is that we should be in control. We should not serve technology and allow our gadgets to control our lives, social skills or decisions. When this happens, it can endanger the proper … Read more
Anyone can stand in a line for hours on end and burst into Walmart trampling people underfoot on Black Friday. The scene has become so ordinary and scripted that most people don’t even notice anymore. Shoppers fighting over Barbie dolls are as predictable as hockey match brawls. The reports from news crews stalking box stores … Read more
Thanksgiving has become a secular holiday. It is a time for family get-togethers, sports events and shopping trips. There is some, but not enough giving of thanks on Thanksgiving. Moreover, when gratitude is felt, it frequently remains just a feeling that is not directed toward a good and personal God. Then too, when people thank … Read more
Medieval men saw the inequalities that exist in nature as a cause of unity not division in society. Their realistic approach was far from the individualist mentality of the modern world that holds that each individual is a self-made and autonomous being in competition with others. Typical of the medieval conception is this explanation by … Read more
There is a certain point when a normal house becomes haunted. It is hard to say exactly when the change occurs, but when it does, things become strange and eerie. From the outside, the house seems to lose its air of respectability, and people sense something foreboding inside. They hear creaking noises. They claim to … Read more
Ronald Reagan once said that an economist is someone who sees something happen in practice and wonders if it could work in theory. The new book, Pope Francis and the Caring Society, appears like a team of economists forced to study the encyclical Laudato Si’ in theory and then wonder if it might work in … Read more
Many people associate the virtue of temperance with the control of one’s appetite. A temperate person does not eat or drink in excess. This perception is undoubtedly true but temperance involves much more. Temperance involves the control of one’s appetites, sentiments, passions and instincts according to light of reason. It is the virtue that keeps … Read more
The spectacular fall of Harvey Weinstein represents more than just the rejection of the appalling behavior of a Hollywood mogul. Rather, it is the unsurprising confirmation that Hollywood is rotten. The behavior of Hollywood producers and actors merely reflects the movies with their violence, immorality, and profanity. As the Weinstein case broadens to include others … Read more
By Francis Slobodnik. One of the essential elements in a return to order is a return to the idea of the sublime. According to Sir Edmund Burke, “the sublime is the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.” John Horvat II, author of Return to Order, defines the sublime with the following words: … Read more
