G.K. Chesterton

Where Are the Playful Realists?
Where Are the Playful Realists?

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.

Christian Realists, not Political Sectarians - Partisanship Politics
Christian Realists, not Political Sectarians

Pure partisanship—or political sectarianism—consists of commitment to an uncontested view of reality and fidelity to one’s ideological compatriots over the whole of one’s polity. Christian realists should not be such partisans.

What the Coronavirus Can Teach Us about Politics - COVID-19 Government
What the Coronavirus and Lockdowns Can Teach Us about Politics

Do not be too hard on politicians who struggle with and differ on their answers to these questions about the COVID-19 and the lockdowns. These are very hard things, and there is no indisputable right answer.

Hope for Post-Coronavirus America

Of course America will survive the coronavirus. We’ve many times survived far worse.

Susannah Black & Richard Dreyfuss: A Theopolitical Embroilment

The first of a five-part epistolary exchange between the actor Richard Dreyfuss and Providence associate editor Susannah Black exploring such issues as the potential of civics education to combat the appeal of groups like ISIS, the place of religion in public life, and the roots of the ideas of the American founding.