by Oliver DeMille What if there were an award for “The Book of the Decade”? It would celebrate the most important book of the past ten years, the one that could have made, and still could make, the most positive difference in the world. If there were such an award, I know what my pick would be. Some books deeply matter. They change their … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
September 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
He wasn’t the headliner. His remarks at the Lincoln Memorial were not even part of his prepared text. At the time, few in the press even commented on his speaking role. But Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech has become one of the most iconic orations in American history. Few understood at the time that King was poised to become one of … [Read more...]
How the Holocaust Will Be Repeated – Oliver DeMille
September 11, 2013 by 4 Comments
The Holocaust is a blight on human history, and when the West found out what really occurred under Hitler’s regime a whole generation vowed that they would never again let such a thing happen. Yet similar events occurred just a few years later in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. When freedom is lost, human beings abuse power to the extreme of … [Read more...]
Charisma: The Key to Opportunity
September 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Everyone has experienced walking into a room of strangers and not exactly knowing what to do. Where do you sit? Who do you talk to? What do you do with your hands? Is everyone looking at you? What are they thinking? These feelings of insecurity are natural, but they don’t have to be permanent. In fact, one of the worst things that can … [Read more...]
“The One Big Thing”: The Big Battle Behind All Political Skirmishes – Oliver DeMille
September 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At the beginning of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, he announced his intention to make the federal government’s finances so clear and easy that any farmer could understand them. Today this seems impossible, but Jefferson had two things going for him. First, these were the same farmers who read the Federalist Papers and understood them clearly. … [Read more...]
Do We Even Deserve Freedom? – Oliver DeMille
September 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Treaties are rewriting the U.S. Constitution. The framers gave the executive branch, balanced by the Senate, the authority to make treaties for the good of the nation, and they described "the supreme law of the land" as the Constitution itself along with any duly passed amendments, laws and treaties. In other words, to read the Constitution, … [Read more...]
Understanding the Real Battle for the Future of Freedom – Oliver DeMille
September 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The following describes one side of the modern battle for our future: "You believe you can change the world for good, one person at a time. You prioritize your children and your neighbors above your own consumption. Fulfillment for you comes through love and service, not accumulation of material goods." And the next one describes how the other … [Read more...]
Choose Your Allegiance With Care
August 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
I knew it was wrong. I grappled with my choice. But in the end, my allegiance was wrong. Many years ago while attending college I auditioned to be in a play. Since the play was a comedy, I had high hopes of being cast. I had discovered some time earlier that the only sound sweeter than applause was applause mixed with laughter. I was elated when … [Read more...]
16 Ways Rome is a Mirror of Current America – Oliver DeMille
August 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Studying history is always the best way to understand our current world and current events. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Reading Livy’s classic, History of Early Rome, this last month has been very enlightening. There are so many parallels between Rome and current events in America. Burke really was correct: if we don’t … [Read more...]
A Surprising Word Choice by America’s Founders – Oliver DeMille
August 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
One of the most surprising events in the American founding occurred when the Continental Congress used the word “happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. Up to that point, it was not a word often utilized in great political writings. Words like “justice,” “liberty,” “property,” “honor,” “power,” “rights” and others were expected in such a … [Read more...]
