While We’re At It

♦︎ The Republican Party and the Trump White House protect and promote vice industries that exploit Americans, especially young American males. So observe Brad Wilcox and James Lynch in “Republicans Embrace the Vice Economy” (Compact, August 12, 2026). The supposedly conservative side of the aisle eases regulations on marijuana, curtails scrutiny of cryptocurrency, and winks at “prediction markets” that have put gambling apps onto every smart phone. Wilcox and Lynch rightly note:

There is nothing conservative about a government that signs stablecoin bills while working-class men max out credit cards on parlays. There is nothing populist about a regulatory apparatus that protects Polymarket’s revenue and lets insider trading run wild. There is nothing Christian about canonizing THC dispensaries, sportsbooks, vapes, and AI mistresses as the patron saints of liberty.  

Moreover, it’s bad politics in the long run, and even the short run:

The political calculation for expanding the vice economy was always simple: Republicans must do this to win young male voters. But young men are increasingly souring on President Trump because of practical concerns about the cost of living and a collapse in institutional trust. As it turns out, permission to smoke weed and gamble will not make men feel more confident about their prospects of buying a home and one day providing for their family.

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♦︎ On July 1, the Society of St. Pius X consecrated bishops without a pontifical mandate, which prompted Pope Leo to issue excommunications. The SSPX justifies its renegade ordinations as a pastoral necessity to provide for the spiritual needs of the faithful. Its founder, Archbishop Lefebvre, appealed to the same rationale when he illicitly ordained bishops in 1988. In Rorate Caeli, Roberto de Mattei writes an astute assessment of the present fissure:

We thus find ourselves before the paradox. The Society of Saint Pius X, by invoking the state of necessity, grounds a large part of its justification on the primacy of pastoral requirements over strictly juridical and doctrinal considerations—thereby embracing that very primacy of pastoral practice which is a foundational mandate of Vatican II. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, by contrast, invokes Vatican II, yet does not acknowledge the weight of the pastoral argument and employs against the Society the terms and concepts of pre-conciliar theology, in the name of the binding force of doctrine and law.

Mattei goes on to make a pregnant observation: “At the heart of the controversy lies the historical and theological judgment on the twentieth century—a century that profoundly marked the destiny of the Church and of the contemporary world.” That sounds right to me. In our standard histories, the first half of the twentieth century was a time of disaster, which was overcome by the great cultural, political, moral, and even spiritual triumphs of the second half. What if the great progressive “solutions,” among which has been the primacy of the pastoral, were also destructive?

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♦︎ Henri de Lubac observed that arguments against heresy often adopt the categories and concepts of the positions being rejected. This tendency can distort affirmations of orthodoxy, making them photo negatives of error rather than affirmations of divine truths on their own terms. The same is true for moral and political polemics, as well as theological ones. I think the second half of the twentieth century has that unfortunate character, reacting as it did against the errors, perversions, and outright evils of the first half. Recognizing this dynamic does not mean rejecting the Second Vatican Council! Rather, it allows us to reflect more calmly on its enduring meaning for our own century.

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♦︎ G. K. Chesterton: “We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong.”

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♦︎ A recent Pew survey (“What Do Americans Consider Immoral?”) reports that a slight majority of Americans are okay with doctor-assisted suicide. Support and opposition closely track religious faith. Fifty-nine percent of those who say religion is very important in their lives say doctor-assisted suicide is morally wrong; only 8 percent of those who say religion is “not at all” important in their lives regard it as morally wrong. A caveat: The survey question asked respondents about “patients choosing to end their lives with the help of a doctor.” It’s a gentle-sounding proposition, obscuring the fact that the doctor is actively assisting in suicide, not offering palliative care to a dying person. Perhaps this obfuscation garners the appearance of more support for the practice of doctor-assisted suicide than it actually enjoys.

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♦︎ The same survey shows a slightly higher judgment against pornography (52 percent) than against abortion (47 percent). It’s also interesting to see that nearly 40 percent view homosexuality as morally wrong, whereas only 9 percent regard using IVF in the same negative light. The number on homosexuality suggests that Pride Month is losing its sacred status. The very low level of judgment against IVF saddens me. I fear it foretells public support for the technological takeover of reproduction.

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♦︎ A few months ago, The Free Press launched a new polling endeavor, The Honesty Project. Its surveys are designed to distinguish opinions that people are likely to express in public from opinions they hold privately. Results are sobering. Twenty-eight percent of Gen-Z respondents would publically affirm that we “may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” The number rises to 39 percent in private. Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers register only slightly lower public support for politically motivated violence, ranging from 28 to 25 percent. In private, however, the toleration of older generations for violent solutions to political disputes decreases. This raises a question: What could be encouraging the older generations to overstate their support for political violence?

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♦︎ Readers may be interested in the upcoming annual convention of the Fellowship of Catholics Scholars. This year’s theme is “Person and Word.” Featured speakers include First Things authors such as James Matthew Wilson and Reinhard Hütter. The convention takes place September 25 through 27 at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, go to catholicscholars.org/convention.

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♦︎ We have six readers seeking to form ROFTers groups in their areas. If you’d like to join, please contact them at the email addresses provided.

Leanna Baumer in Orange County, California:
leannabaumer@gmail.com

Aaron Sens in Arlington, Virginia:
asensbusiness@gmail.com

Rogers Meredith in Granbury, Texas:
holyaustin1959@gmail.com

Rob Lester in Oakland, Maine:
rob.lester54@gmail.com

Isaac Wang in Levittown, New York:
mellifluous@protonmail.com

Jackson Shults in San Antonio, Texas:
jackson_shults@icloud.com

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♦︎ We are preparing our fall fundraising campaign. First Things has never been stronger. We recently added Portico to our publication offerings. It’s a literary quarterly committed to beauty. Our John Templeton Foundation–funded newsletters cover Catholicism (“The Fourth Watch”), Protestantism (“The Protestant Mind”), Judaism (“The Jew from Nowhere”), and, most recently, the AI revolution (“The Widening Gyre”). We’re able to do so much because our readers are so generous. Please make a donation to our fall campaign.

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♦︎ I’d like to welcome two new junior fellows to First Things. Paul Howard comes to us from Notre Dame, where he recently earned a master’s degree in early Christian studies. Stephen Walker graduated from Davidson College in May. They’re great additions to our hardworking staff.

I’d also like to welcome Meghan Schultz. She is taking up the new position of program and events manager. A graduate of Hillsdale College and woman of high standards, she’ll bring our in-person events up to the same level of excellence as our publications.

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♦︎ Speaking of events, Yoram Hazony will deliver our annual Erasmus Lecture: “Only the Old Testament Can Restore America.” It will take place Monday, November 2, at New York’s Union League Club. To ensure a seat, register at firstthings.com/events/erasmus-2026.