I have been asked to contribute some thoughts on the First Things blog. For those who don’t know FT, it is perhaps the country’s most prominent religious journal. It is headed by the imcomparable Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and edited by my good friend Joseph Bottum.
My work is entirely secular, which means that I don’t deal in religious analysis or advocacy. But FT also explores ethical issues of general interest and import. Thus, my post (you may have to scroll down) takes off on the pope’s provocative warning against the “dictatorship of relativism,” pointing to some of the threats posed by modern relativism to human exceptionalism, which, as readers know, is the through line here at Secondhand Smoke.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
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If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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