Category: Politics & Government

Opinions on contemporary political happenings and the workings of civil government.

My Political Wilderness (Part 1)

  

Way back in the Dark Ages of my life, I thought I was a Democrat. I was raised to think—not ideologically, but culturally—that all the good common people were Democrats. I wasn’t taught this specifically; it was simply my cultural environment. JFK was the charismatic rerun of Camelot; LBJ was the champion of the poor and the downtrodden. How could I not be a Democrat? Going to college, though, turned me toward Republicans. That was certainly counter-cultural during my years… Read more »

The Loss of History Is Our Loss

  

I remember it was back around 1980, when I was teaching some high school students, that I first encountered the realization that I was older and they were unbelievably young. What do I mean? I was talking about the JFK assassination and was stunned to learn that they were too young to have had firsthand knowledge of it. Of course, if I had been thinking clearly, I would have understood that ahead of time; after all, even if I’m not… Read more »

Principle Above Politics: Conscience Is Forever

  

Bill Clinton was acquitted of impeachment charges in February 1999. The next month, I was in Washington, DC, attending a conference on constitutional history. It included a session in the chamber of the Supreme Court. I was thrilled to be there. Years before, while earning my doctorate at American University, I had worked in the Supreme Court history office and had even sat in on one of the cases presented to the Court. The thrill, though, disappeared as I listened… Read more »

Mueller’s Report & Partisanship

  

In the world of politics, the big day is tomorrow. That’s when the Mueller Report—with redactions—will be released to the public. Until now, all we’ve had is the four-page summary written by Attorney General Barr, and all it seemed to accomplish is polar-opposite reactions. Republicans jumped on the conclusion that there was no collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia. President Trump, in one of his multitude of tweets, declared, “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA… Read more »

Aim at Heaven & You Will Get Earth Thrown In

  

I’m sure everyone has heard the complaint against some Christians who, we’re told, are “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.” While that may sound rather clever, and it may be easy to pick up on the refrain because, after all, this is the world we live in, it nevertheless doesn’t hold up under close examination. History itself denies this cliché. C. S. Lewis can always be relied upon to make us rethink popular slogans. He tackles this one… Read more »

The Devolution of the Democrat Party

  

Democrats and Republicans have always disagreed about policy, but there was a time when the two parties weren’t as polarized as they are today. In my study of American history, the last Democrat president with whom I would have felt entirely comfortable was Grover Cleveland—and that goes a long way back. Yet Democrats weren’t always as radical as they seem to be now. The change in my lifetime has been rather dramatic, and I’m sure many others can attest to… Read more »

The Graham-Eisenhower Connection

  

Yesterday in my “Religion and the Presidents” course, I shared the unusual relationship that developed between Dwight Eisenhower and Billy Graham. I say “unusual” because Ike was decades older than the young evangelist and had far more experience in the world. After all, he led the European Theater of WWII, including the daring and dramatic decision to go forward on D-Day. Yet Ike was being drawn by God into a closer examination of his religious beliefs. No achievement in this… Read more »