“After the Fire”
Guy Sorman, City Journal
Although the legislation recently passed by the French Parliament still fails to specify a blueprint for the reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre-Dame—an issue of substantial controversy—even the slightest progress toward its restoration brings no small comfort to the French and Francophiles alike. Writing for City Journal, Guy Sorman offers a brief meditation on Notre-Dame’s place at the heart of an evolving French ethos in the twenty-first century. Touching on religion, architecture, immigration, philanthropy, and, of course, political machinery, Sorman makes a compelling case that, even in her most bureaucratically stymied moments, the country of France continues to evince the nobility of her character and heritage as she moves past the tragedy.
“Conversation Killers on Campus”
James Freeman, The Wall Street Journal
Contrary to appearances, “antiquated” and “problematic” ideas like free speech, justice, and a common pursuit of truth still have a handful of stalwart defenders within the academy. One pair of these pesky traditionalists recently stood up to criticize Yale for its compromised notions of excellence, recalcitrant opposition to dialogue, and hush-hush approach to brushing aside legal troubles. James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal editorializes about the comments that the former Yale Law School dean Anthony Kronman made on the wider scope and purpose of a humanities education in a recent interview, as well as the observations of the Brooklyn College history professor K. C. Johnson concerning the absurdity of the pseudo-legal proceedings taking place at Yale and elsewhere. The insouciance! The audacity! May shame fall upon Kronman and Johnson for stepping so far out from the academic party line.
“Roger Kimball: America is less racist than it has ever been”
Roger Kimball and Tucker Carlson, Fox News
After penning an article for The Spectator on our president’s recent tweets and the ensuing brouhaha in Washington, our own Roger Kimball joined Tucker Carlson to discuss the sensationalist congressional circus and the need for gumption in opposing pernicious ideology. “There’s a reason,” Kimball concludes, “that Aristotle said courage was the most important virtue—because without courage, you can’t practice any of the others.”
From our pages:
“Five hundred years after Leonardo”
Adrienne Bernhard
