Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 6

Trump’s New NAFTA Deal Should Please Liberals–But Will It?

President Trump has accomplished his goal of replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with a new trade pact between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.  It will be called the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA).  The deal not only provides for freer and fairer trade, while preserving the huge North American market, but it also […]

“By Any Means Necessary”

“By any means necessary.”  This phrase, originating with Jean-Paul Sartre and made famous by Malcolm X, has become a slogan for the hard left.  It now has wider currency.  I heard it last weekend from a sportscaster.  It even has an acronymn, BAMN, that you’ll see on lots of protest signs.  “By any means necessary” […]

The Continuing Protestant Legacy in Education

Martin Luther invented universal education–for boys and girls of all social classes–and he started institutions to provide it.  Ever since, Protestantism has promoted education–among the urban poor of the 19th century, on the mission fields, and in Christian schools today.  Now a British researcher has found that this Protestant emphasis on education is a cultural […]

Yoga in Public Schools

The Atlantic has an article about the growing use of yoga in the curriculum of public schools, even though some people are against it.  The implication is that doing yoga for gym class is “progressive” and that the opposition consists mostly of Christians who are worried that the Hindu practice conflicts with their religious beliefs.  But […]

Only 18% of Americans Believe in Abortion on Demand

Americans’ beliefs about abortion are complicated.  Pro-abortionists are hailing recent polling that finds that 60% of American do not want Roe v. Wade overturned.  But a study that breaks down the specifics of what Americans believe about abortion finds that a big majority of Americans in every demographic want abortion to be strictly limited.  Only […]

The Middle Ages Were the Age of Reason; Ours Is the Age of Faith

I enjoy it when conventional wisdom gets turned upside down.  A good example appeared in The Federalist last week:  David Breitenbeck’s Why Our Day Is Far More Religious Than The Middle Ages Was. As someone who has studied Medieval philosophy and read St. Thomas Aquinas, I can attest that if ever there was an “Age of Reason,” […]

The Theology of Being “Pro-Choice”: Demanding the Attributes of God

God is a different kind of being than what we are.  That should be obvious.  But some people today want to be God, to the point of demanding to have the attributes of God.   Those who are “pro-choice,” for example–that is, pro-abortion–are not content to “play God” by giving mothers the sovereign power to determine […]

Are Adults Still Responsible for What They Did as Minors?

The Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is in jeopardy after accusations that when he was a 17-year-old high school student, 36 years ago, he committed sexual assault at a drunken party by jumping on top of a 15-year-old girl and trying to take off her clothes before he was knocked off of her […]

The Catholic Sex-Abuse Scandal Is Bigger Crisis Than the Reformation?

The priest sex-abuse scandal is the biggest crisis to hit the Roman Catholic church since the Reformation.  I’ve heard that thought expressed by a number of people.  It contains a lot of truth, but it also has some misconceptions.  Far from being bad for the Church, the Reformation was good for the Church, including the […]

Saul Alinsky’s 13 Rules for Radicals

Saul Alinsky was a left-wing activist in the 1960s and 1970s whose “community organizing” was influential to subsequent political agitators, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.  His book Rules for Radicals:  A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals  gives his tactics for dealing with opponents and seizing political power. Rich Logis  has written a fascinating piece in at […]