R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Henry Louis Gates Owes an Apology

Well, it seems that the tender sensibilities of a famous Harvard professor were offended. He and his driver put their shoulders to his front door. A neighbor called the police. The officer responded and adopted the usual officious and superior manner of policemen. As a man who knows only deference . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Jul 2009

Gays, Non-Discrimination, and the USCCB

You gotta love the political lobbying arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Their 2009 legislative round-up provides an insight into the priorities of Catholic officialdom. One item is particularly interesting. The report sums up Barney Frank’s bill, H.R. 3685, The . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Jul 2009

Further Thoughts on Localism

I’m glad Jody drew attention to Caleb Stegall’s intervention. Stegall is surely right that love is the “existential engine” of localism . Indeed, by my reckoning, love is the existential engine of any thick and substantial cultural identity. Yes, of course love is jealous. The . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jul 2009

Localism and Anti-Semitism

Yes, Jody rightly draws attention to the role of anti-Semitism in the sort of modern conservatism that sees history, tradition, and place as anchors of sanity. By my reading, however, that role is complicated and full of ironies. One irony comes from the Stalinist era. “Rootless . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Jun 2009

Localism

Patriotism is the political form of love. It comes from the Latin (and Greek) for father, signaling the deep bond of loyalty to clan, the primitive sense that we owe our existence to a place, a people. As Jody points out when recalling an old post of mine that drew appreciative attention to some . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Jun 2009

The Stalinist Moment In Iran

Events in Iran have been riveting. The presidential vote on June 12 was rigged to ensure the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or so most suspect. Supporters of Ahmadinejad’s main opponent, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, have rejected the outcome, and for a few heady days they . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Jun 2009

The Spiritual Citizenship of Richard John Neuhaus

The Canadian novelist Randy Boyagoda recently published a fine and substantive discussion of the thought of Richard John Neuhaus in the July/August issue of THE WALRUS: ” Spiritual Citizenship: The life and times of Richard John Neuhaus .” It’s available online and well worth . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Jun 2009

Ritual Denunciations

For a good example of the mainstream liberal Jihad mentality, take a look as Scott McLemee’s effusion of bile on the occasion of Leon Kass’ recent Jefferson Lecture of the National Endowment of the Humanities. The basic argument goes something like this. Kass served in the Bush . . . . Continue Reading »

29 May 2009

French Women Surge Ahead

A friend wrote to chastise me for failing to include fresh statistics that show a marked increase in the French fertility rate. Apparently women who did not have children in the twenties are now having babies, and this is pushing up rates that looked dire a decade ago. Check out this news report . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Jan 2009

Still More Roots Music

Geez, you write a piece on pointed musical assertions of cultural identity, and folks seem to take notice. Another friend wrote and directed me to a song by the Afrikaner folk and rock singer, Bok van Blerk. This one (not surprisingly) has generated controversy in South Africa, where liberal whites . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Nov 2008