Posts under ‘Ideas’

For a number of years, I had read about Wendell Berry, but I had never read anything written by him. That changed earlier this year, when I read an interview of him in The Sun Magazine. I’m not one to underline passages in written material, but I found myself doing just that as I read [...]

I found this piece on the Liberals Like Christ blog. It was originally entitled “A Day in the Life of Joe Average Conservative”, but I’ve changed the title to reflect the times. It was written by John Gray, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2004, but his e-mail address is invalid, so I was unable to contact [...]

I’ve written before about racism on this blog and will continue to do so, though not in an accusatory manner. I try, from time to time, to illuminate the fundamental injustice of racism in America. If you subscribe to the founding myths of America (liberty, justice for all, a nation founded on Christian principles) and [...]

Sara Robinson is one of my favorite writers. She wields a very sharp pen and pokes huge holes in the tired talking points of those who have been brainwashed by the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh and O’Reilly. Not that any of them are interested in hearing an alternative viewpoint. But for those progressives (liberals) out [...]

One of the many phenomena in contemporary America which puzzle me is the abundance of yellow ribbons that say “Support Our Troops” on vehicles everywhere I go. If anyone has the temerity to state that they support the troops by advocating for their withdrawal, they are often savaged as traitors, liberals, and supporters of terrorism. [...]

Regular readers of this blog know that another prominent concern of mine has been the inappropriate intrusion of religion into politics and the public arena. Almost two months ago, Katherine Parker, a prominent conservative who writes for The National Review, broke ranks with many conservatives and castigated Sarah Palin in an article entitled “Palin Problem”. [...]

One of the themes that drives me to post on this blog is why those who most need help consistently vote for politicians and political parties who hurt them. In the just completed presidential election, large swaths of Appalachia, where severe poverty is endemic, voted for John McCain, one of whose campaign promises was to [...]

I found this essay on Joe Bageant’s site. The author is not identified, but I think his ideas deserve wide consideration. While those who support Obama are delirious with joy, those who supported McCain are smoldering with contempt and anger. That anger is not going away and those who support Obama disregard this contempt and [...]

With the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States, we have truly entered a new era. Not only has the baton been passed to a new generation of leaders (Obama is 47 and McCain is 72), but for the first time in American history, we have a president whose [...]

Update, October 9, 2010: The Rockridge Institute archives are no longer available from the links in this post. They are now available from the website of the Cognitive Policy Works, a think tank formed by former fellows of the Rockridge Institute. Thank you, Zack Lym, for contacting me and letting me know about this so [...]