American Culture

The Lost Meaning of Independence Day

by Bruce S. Thornton Front Page Magazine Independence Day is a time of backyard barbeques and fireworks, department-store sales and blockbuster movies, patriotic bunting and flying the flag––in short, a time of leisure and consumption, with a few obligatory nods to the momentous event that July 4 is supposed to celebrate. But as the years …

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The Glue Holding America Together

As it fragments into various camps, the country is being held together by a common popular culture. by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online By a.d. 200, the Roman Republic was a distant memory. Few citizens of the global Roman Empire even knew of their illustrious ancestors like Scipio or Cicero. Millions no longer spoke Latin. Italian emperors were a …

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The Tin-Drum Progressive Boomers

by Bruce S. Thornton FrontPage Like the hero of Gunter Grass’ novel The Tin Drum, America’s progressive Baby Boomers chose not to grow up. Why should they? Share This

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The Tangled Web of Race

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online A number of commentators have openly sympathized with multi-murderer Christopher Dorner, who shot seven innocent people, killing four of them. Apparently, the late Dorner was a voice in the wilderness crying out against the racist injustice of the “system.” Share This

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America’s Problem of Assimilation

by Bruce S. Thornton Defining Ideas The current Supreme Court term has been dominated by the Constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare legislation better known as Obamacare. Share This

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Chameleon Nation

by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services Sometimes a trivial embarrassment can become a teachable moment. It was recently revealed that Harvard professor and US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren had self-identified as a Native American for nearly a decade — apparently to enhance her academic career by claiming minority status. Share This

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What America Does Best

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online We are in a fresh round of declinism — understandably, after borrowing nearly $5 trillion in less than three years and having very little to show for it. Share This

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The Inexplicables

by Victor Davis Hanson PJ Media There are a number of things I don’t fathom about contemporary American popular culture and politics. Here is a small sample. Share This

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Snapshot of a Sick Society

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Quite often a brief news story sums up the collective pathologies of postmodern American society. Here is a recent tragic news item from my local paper, followed by some commentary: Share This

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