All this talk about Lost has bored me. So much silly philosophizing and mixed up theology makes for interesting viewing for the average audience, but not so much for me any more. And John Locke did not wake up with Suzanne Pleshette to end the series (as I had hoped). All this for a story that never happened. (And Hugo, imnsho, was the real hero.) But instead of arguing about all this, I propose we get down to a real controversy. Here is the question: Who is the greater spy — Chuck or Sydney?
They are quite similar: Both have spy parents. Both dealt with absentee parents. Both dropped out of college. Both are phenomenal martial artists. Both are in their mid 20s.
One thing Chuck has going or it is that it fulfills the old cliche: Nerd gets hot chick.
But back to the question: Who is greater? (No, not Chuck Norris.)
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.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
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.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…