By Kyle Roberts In my constitution classes I always ask the participants to define a "right.” The catch is they have to do it without using the word “right.” In my experience, whenever people are talking about rights, it is always in the context of a right to something: a right to life, to bear arms, to liberty, to property, to freely … [Read more...]
Sunday Poem: I know the truth — give up all other truths! by Marina Tsvetayeva
December 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Explore the Sunday Poem archives here. I know the truth -- give up all other truths! Marina Tsvetayeva I know the truth - give up all other truths! No need for people anywhere on earth to struggle. Look - it is evening, look, it is nearly night: what do you speak of, poets, lovers, generals? The wind is level now, the earth is wet … [Read more...]
The New America
December 3, 2010 by 2 Comments
By Oliver DeMille The Age of Dependence We have recently changed as a people, and as a nation. I’m not sure exactly when the change occurred, but we are living in the new reality it has created. On the one hand, we have always been a nation dedicated to positive change. America was founded by breaking from the old world and … [Read more...]
Breaking Free of the Two-Party System, Part 2: Solutions
November 26, 2010 by 4 Comments
By Kyle Roberts This is part two of a two-part series. Read Part 1 here. There are two fundamental reasons why this system has so much power: The parties are intimately connected with government operation of elections—from filling vacancies, to making appointments, to placing candidates on the ballot, and controlling the choices … [Read more...]
Change?
November 15, 2010 by 4 Comments
By Shanon Brooks Recently, someone ask me if I was happy with the changes in Utah State government (6 more Republicans in the House and 1 more in the Senate). “What changes?” I said. “You know, the legislature is more conservative now.” “Really? When did that happen?” I inquired. “I only see a changing of the guard, new … [Read more...]
A Republic, If You Can Keep It
November 2, 2010 by 4 Comments
My adventure with the American election process began much like other young people entering college. Not certain who the candidates were, or even what they stood for, I voted with zeal but with little knowledge. As I gained more experience, through reading newspapers and magazines, I quickly fell into the democratic herd, who spout their … [Read more...]
15 Tough Questions For Political Candidates
October 22, 2010 by 3 Comments
Less than a month remains before the first Tuesday in November, and the current election cycle is finally beginning to peak. Many self-identified conservative commentators are breathlessly reminding us that "This is the most important election of our lifetimes" while they're busy helping set up the Republican Kool-Aid stand. Democrats seem … [Read more...]
Why Societies Decline, Part 2: Six Choices for Citizens
October 13, 2010 by 1 Comment
This is part 2 of a 2-part article. Read Part 1 Here If the first step of decline is arrogance, the second is “a time of troubles” where the actions of society and its institutions too often fall short of the people’s lofty ideals. For example, consider the era when Americans saw themselves as the land of the free, the best place in the … [Read more...]
Islam on Trial
October 11, 2010 by 2 Comments
A recent (ahem) debate on a forum I'm involved with started out as a discussion on the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" -- a textbook example of Joseph Goebbel's "repeat a lie often enough" dictum -- but quickly deteriorated into what amounted to a trial of the Islamic faith. I claim no expertise on the subject of Islam, but I've encountered … [Read more...]
