Opinion
Civics education extends beyond schools
Let’s double down on the semiquincentennial. Let’s have more concerts and parades, yes, as well as more publications, readings, public lectures, and private conversations.
Opinion
It’s no coincidence that the free thrive
America is the top destination for migrants in the world because we create an environment where people can thrive. And within our nation, NC is near the top. Does that make us the greatest place to be on earth? Pretty much.
Opinion
A British lord’s warning to his American cousins on their 250th birthday
"A republic, if you can keep it. Can you, cousins? Can you?" Lord Daniel Hannan asked the 2026 CLC audience.
Opinion
Politics should be less important
It might sound odd to hear this from someone who’s been writing a syndicated column on politics for nearly four decades, but politics has become vastly more important in our lives than it should be. Virtually every decision we make in our ostensibly free society is now subject to review, refinement, and reversal by some...
Opinion
Feminism is not red or blue — it’s pink
Before I had a chance to see Barbie, someone described it to me as having “no real plot line.” I beg to differ. The plot line of Barbie is what a woman’s life looks like in The Real World. Let me explain… In the opening scene, the introduction of the first Barbie doll is positioned...
Opinion
Is authoritarianism a new fusionism?
More government, centralized power in Washington, overreaching government intervention in the market, state-enforced indoctrination of subjective morality, centering the collective over the individual, and coercing an anti-liberty agenda into the American polity. You would be correct if you read that and thought it described progressive leftism in America. You would also be correct if you...
Opinion
Some tips for reading this column
One of the consequences of writing a syndicated column on politics and public policy for more than three decades is that I am constantly told what I think and why I think it. You may find this consequence perplexing. Isn’t my job here to tell readers what I think and why I think it? Sure....
Opinion
Freedom is a tool for progress
I’m a conservative without a conversion story. Plenty of others have such a tale — they read a certain book, had a certain teacher, or somehow became disenchanted with their previous, left-leaning views. If the conversion happened to them as adults, after first being politically active as a progressive, socialist, or communist, they were called...
Opinion
A look into the different expressions of conservatism
As someone who tends to fall on the libertarian end of the political spectrum, I used to struggle with understanding the term “conservative” as a political category. I have noticed the term expresses a broad political ideology. This is generally understood to those that adhere to the principle of conservatism but not something readily available...
Opinion
Focusing on the government link to traditional district schools
One nationally known education expert eschews the popular phrase "public schools."
Opinion
Critical race theory seeks to recast America’s foundational beliefs
Published below are the full and unedited remarks of NC Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, on the threat to critical race theory to American society and its founding principles. Berger offered up the remarks on July 14. Certain Enlightenment Era concepts have defined American culture since our nation’s founding. Sometimes referred to as “classical liberalism,”...
Opinion
Conservatives might need a dose of the 1970s
The times have a fin de siècle feel for small-government conservatives. The Republican Party is now “owned” by Donald Trump who, in his first year, increased government expenditures by 86% over the last budget proposed by George W. Bush in 2008. The self-professed “king of debt” requested an additional $300 billion for his second year, leading to an...
