Worth the Risk? Rivka Weinberg on “How, When, and Why Procreation May Be Permissible”
A new book sets out a system of “procreative ethics” based on the idea that life is not a gift but a risk. From this point of view, imposing that risk on someone requires serious justification.
A Call for Partisan Consistency
Only when we are willing to hold our own party to the same standards to which we hold the other party will we be able to improve our national politics.
George Washington’s Constitutional Morality
In the age of Clinton and Trump, we need the principles and ideals that animated America’s first president more than ever.
How to Fix the GOP
By invoking the principles of the Declaration of Independence, Republicans can wholeheartedly embrace the ideas of integration, inclusion, and respect in a way that remains consistent with their commitments to morality, patriotism, and liberty.
Dietrich von Hildebrand’s Battle Against Hitler
Dietrich von Hildebrand’s memoir of resistance against the Nazis compels us to wonder how we would have responded in the face of similar evils. Would we have the courage to speak the truth in love? Or would we sit back silently in fear?
A Vote’s Consequences and a Voter’s Conscience
Vote as if your ballot determines nothing whatsoever—except the shape of your own character.
Religious Liberty and the Fracturing of Civil Society
A humane civil society requires an ecosystem of religious freedom.
Adam Smith, Economic Nationalism, and the Case for Free Trade
As economic nationalism enjoys a resurgence across the developed world, Adam Smith reminds us of how much we stand to lose—and not just economically.
The Problem with Gender Studies
If gender studies is to serve as a helpful guide, it must abandon its invented dualisms of sex and gender, nature and nurture, embodiment and social construction. Gender sociologists need to study the way human beings actually live rather than the way they wish we would live.
Is Liberalism Dead?
Kim R. Holmes’s new book interweaves abstract philosophy with history, empirical data, and concrete narrative.
William Shakespeare and the Socratic-Christian Heritage
Though he certainly finds fault in distorted versions of Christian ideals, Shakespeare pays tribute to the truth, beauty, and goodness of genuine Christian virtue.
A Psychiatrist Looks at Personal Identity, Family Structure, and Identity Politics
If we ever hope to rid our country’s political discourse of the poison of identity politics, we must begin by rebuilding the psychological foundations of healthy identity formation in our children.
Congress Should Protect Conscience Rights for Medical Students Like Me
Congress should pass the Conscience Protection Act to send a message to the entire nation that our freedom of speech and religious freedom are protected and valued.
Stump Speech for a New Candidate
Who is willing—and able—to step up and be this candidate?
It’s Possible: Gays and Lesbians Can Have Happy Marriages
Same-sex marriage is not the only option for gays and lesbians who seek the personal fulfillment and familial happiness that is the universal desire of the human heart.
I Know the Pain of Being Left by a Gay Husband: An Open Letter to Lauren Pearson
Amid public congratulations for “being true to himself,” a husband’s coming out leaves his wife and children in deep pain.
Texas Lawmen and the Lawless Court
The Governor and Attorney General of Texas should obey the law, not the Supreme Court’s ambiguous abstractions. They should continue to secure the fundamental liberty of vulnerable Texans and make the abortion industry assert its super-claim-rights in court.
A Pledge Betrayed: The Obama Administration Nullifies Conscience Rights
The Obama administration not only enforces but unilaterally expands some civil rights laws, such as when “sex” became “gender identity” in Title IX. Yet it promotes exceptions, loopholes, and countervailing arguments for other civil rights protections, such as conscience rights for those who oppose abortion.
Europe’s Free Speech Problem: A Cautionary Tale
After it was accepted that criminalizing speech was a desirable way to produce better citizens, finding a stopping point has proven almost impossible. Although the US has the legal protections for freedom of speech that Europe lacks, a culture of censorship is emerging here as well.
Public Discourse: If We Can Keep It
This Fourth of July, if you believe that the work we do improves the political discourse that is so vital to the preservation of our republic, won’t you make a gift to support the work of Public Discourse?
SCOTUS and Abortion: Three Failures and Opportunities for the Pro-Life Movement
There comes a time where gross disregard for human life and for our constitutional order should stir us from docile obedience and impel us to resistance.
