Donald Trump has undermined our shared representative democracy in fundamental ways and appears to be actively pursuing an autocracy. — Donald Trump has undermined our shared representative democracy in fundamental ways and appears to be actively pursuing an autocracy. Below we present a bit of an overview of Trump’s assault on our democracy, divided into six main cage: 1. Working to Undermine the Democratic Election Process 2. Prepping us for more…

How can you find someone right for you? — How can you find someone right for you? First, you must admit — annoying though it may be — that you won’t be happy with anyone unless you are happy with yourself and the life you are leading. Ask yourself what you care about, what you want out of life…

When studying a foreign language, I find the following exercise salutary: — When studying a foreign language, I find the following exercise salutary: Find a side by side translation of a short story — in the original language and then translated into English (or whatever your native language is). Sentence by sentence, read the translation and then read the original. It is…

If you believe there is a Truth that human beings can relate meaningfully to, how do you know how meaningfully you are relating to It? — If you believe there is a Truth that human beings can relate meaningfully to, how do you know how meaningfully you are relating to the Truth? I think there must be more to this life than relative. But I think the Truth must be Absolute and unlimited, and my thinking…

If you have the good fortune to live in a representative democracy, your should work with your fellow citizens to keep an eye on the… — If you have the good fortune to live in a representative democracy, your should work with your fellow citizens to keep an eye on the rulers of your land. Sure: engage in the policy debates of your day. But don’t let those debates and the oft accompanying excitations and divisions…

You want to write a sonnet? — You want to write a sonnet? OK! You just need fourteen lines, one right after the other. And some kind of order within and between the lines. Since we’re speaking English, we’ll start our careers with the Shakespearean sonnet. So our lines will all be iambic pentameters — ten syllables…

Representative Democracy is a Spiritual Good (Short Version) A healthy representative democracy helps individuals and groups to live well (both happily and decently). …

[Editor’s 2020 Note: — [Editor’s 2020 Note: This 2017 essay — originally intended as a preface to First Loves — is included in First Essays. We’d written the essay in response to an article (cited at the bottom of the page) on Steve Bannon’s notions that our nation had cultural aspects that could not…

We saw an Ad proclaiming that the Democrats were terrified because they know they’re not going to get away with their corruption any… — We saw an Ad proclaiming that the Democrats were terrified because they know they’re not going to get away with their corruption any longer. We clicked on “Get Started” and were ecarried to the below poll. At least at the time of this writing, this link https://action.donaldjtrump.com/democrat-corruption …