C.S. Lewis

The world is watching as Beijing hosts the XXIV Winter Olympiad. There is something about the Olympics that elicits national pride. But is sport a form of patriotic action?

How should we think about veterans and military service more generally? C.S. Lewis, a World War I veteran who was wounded in combat, provides some answers.

On June 14, Americans recognize Flag Day. It is not a holiday, but it is a day honoring the establishment of our nation’s most visible and moving symbol on June 14, 1777: the “Red, White, and Blue.”

It is childish to demand the real world conform to one’s fancy; it is childlike to learn about the real world by playing in an imaginary one. Both the idealist and the cynical realist are childish. The Christian realist, by contrast, should be childlike.

Peter Paul Ruben’s extraordinary “Raising of the Cross” helps reflect on Divine love, human flourishing, and the weight of glory.

The insurrection on Epiphany reveals essential tasks—for America to prevent another attack and for the church to respond properly to the misuse of its symbols.

Renewed debates over history reveal the narratives that conservatives and progressives employ to justify or decry American history. One narrative insists on lionizing historical figures, the other on demonizing them—yet both distract from the ongoing pursuit of the American ideals of justice, liberty, and equality.

Those wishing to improve the world should begin with that part of the world over which they have the greatest control: themselves.

Albert Camus’ The Plague is a study of how the various townspeople relate to one another during a catastrophe. The book has always been good for reflection, but now it’s truly a mirror.