Confederate States of America (CSA)

The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations
The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations

While most histories of the Civil War naturally focus on the drama in America, Don H. Doyle’s “The Cause of All Nations” explains how the conflict fits into broader world history and how events abroad affected the war.

Amidst Our Chasms - US Capitol Riot
Amidst Our Chasms

We comfort ourselves, saying, “This is not who we are.” But without deeper reflection, such pat answers are lies, strengthening the “vulgarized knowledge” that allow us to ignore the chasms that threaten to consume us.

Two Tasks after the Insurrection at the US Capitol
Two Tasks after the Insurrection at the US Capitol

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.

Flawed Historical Narratives about American Figures Color Our Pursuit of Justice

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.

Mobs and Monuments: Distinguishing between the United States and Confederate States
Mobs and Monuments: Distinguishing between the United States and Confederate States

King recognized that for nations, as for individuals, the measure of goodness is not perfection, but rather direction. America was born headed in the right direction—and continues to build a “more perfect union” dreamed up by imperfect men.

Recalling Human Folly

Monuments recalling human folly may be no less important than ones honoring heroic human action.

Francisco Franco era Valley of the Fallen
Monuments, Memories, & Franco

Modern democratic Spain is both a rejection and product of Franco’s dictatorship. Should he be honored or despised?