Opinion
Federalist 18: Insufficiency of Present Confederation to Preserve Union cont..
As a weak government, when not at war, is ever agitated by internal dissentions, so these never fail to bring on fresh calamities from abroad.
Opinion
How fiction can illuminate and inspire
I once wrote a musical play with a character who spoke almost exclusively in words beginning with “a.” The practice was, in her own words, “awesome” and “awfully annoying.” Her appellation was Alpha. Actually, she was the first volume of an encyclopedia come to life. Most characters in the show, Turn the Page, were either...
Opinion
Why North Carolina needs classical education
If individuals are to find real and abiding happiness, we have to go back to our roots — the books, ideas, concepts of the Western tradition. In short, the tree must be re-rooted if it is to bear fruit again.
Opinion
Disappointing primaries lacked substance
Party nominations for North Carolina’s 2024 elections are, for the most part, decided. Just four races remain to be settled in runoffs on May 14. So, would you say you’re generally satisfied or dissatisfied with our primaries this year? Here’s my answer to the question: I’m deeply disappointed. It’s not that all the candidates I...
Opinion
Why the right never wins
About a quarter of a century ago, I read Whittaker Chamber’s magisterial “Witness,” his cri de coeur execration against “Godless” communism. As a young man, Chambers had embraced communism and even wrote for the Marxist-cum socialist Daily Worker. Over time, however, he came to realize that in this war of ideas, one side embraced God...
Opinion
Carolina leaders should heed Cicero
North Carolina has an official state bird (the Northern Cardinal), an official state reptile (the Eastern Box Turtle), an official state insect (the honeybee), an official state mammal (the Gray Squirrel), an official saltwater fish (the Channel Bass), an official freshwater fish (the Southern Appalachian Brook Trout), an official state marsupial (the Virginia Opossum, which...
News
Robinson calls for accountability, discipline in K-12 public schools
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is calling for broad reforms to the K-12 education system in North Carolina. Robinson’s comments came during a standing committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 21, that touched on themes of accountability, discipline, and restoring common sense. Robinson, a Republican, specifically called out a lack of discipline in public school classrooms, the...
Opinion
How civilization’s tale was spun
Our thinking about social and technological change is warped by the materials that happen to survive. Scholars name historical ages after rocks and metals. Archaeologists sift through mounds of pottery shards.
Opinion
Philosopher can teach Carolina pols
If North Carolina leaders want truly to be rather than to seem, they could do far worse than heed the philosopher who wrote our motto.
Opinion
The Gotcha Moment That Wasn’t
Yes, please pay public school teachers market-based salaries. The John Locke Foundation has advocated that position for years.
Opinion
Constitution Day Marks Good Time For Reflection
Key founders would have appreciated a day set aside to commemorate one of the nation's fundamental documents.
Opinion
Defining Terms Shapes Debate
Don’t believe claims that language doesn’t matter, that words cannot do harm, that they are “just words.” Politics is replete with “facts” that are not so, but that frame the debate on consequential matters.
