New Website: ‘The Common Man’

Dear friends, In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not updating this website anymore. I can’t deal with WordPress anymore. So, I decided to jump on the Substack bandwagon. If you haven’t done so, please consider signing up for my newsletter, “The Common Man”. It’s free! Every Friday, a brand-new essay will be delivered to your

The Case for Secession

The best reason for breaking up the states is also the most obvious: there’s way too many of them. The idea that one government can effectively govern 300 million people spread over 4 million square miles and worth about $23 trillion is absurd. There’s no way the interests of Maine, Kentucky, New Mexico, Alaska, and

The Great Convergence

We say that the Great Schism of 1054 left the Church with a wound that has never healed. But what do we mean by that? If we mean that the Orthodox simply fell into schism, then it’s the schismatic that is wounded, not the Church. Likewise, if they mean that Catholics simply fell into heresy,

The Augustine Option

Like Rod Dreher (and Ross Douthat, Anthony Esolen, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Malcolm Muggeridge, to name just a few) I believe we’re headed for a new Dark Age. That’s why, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to read St. Augustine’s masterpiece The City of God cover to cover. The first thing that struck me was

The Meaning of Anti-Whiteness

Conservatives have only ever had one good argument against race-based affirmative action, reparations, and other programs that promote racial equity.  They’ve point out that black Africans also participated in the slave trade.   In fact, long before English settlers arrived in Virginia, blacks were enslaving whites, blacks were enslaving blacks, and whites were enslaving each

Hail To The Washington Football Team

The one thing I regret about ditching our TV is not being able to watch football. Here in New England, it’s easy to bluff your way through sports talk. Just saying something like, “We owe Belichick more than one season with a new quahtahback before we kick him to the curb.” But it’s been more

Get Out of My House

One year later, I can’t believe how many conservatives still struggle to condemn the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.  What happened that day was not only a crime: it was a sin against nature. Not all of my comrades see it that way.  Sarcastic references to the “temple of our democracy” abound.  It’s just a

The Education of a Modernist

Readers of Crisis Magazine who know the name Garry Wills probably wouldn’t expect to see his books recommended in these pages. But I strongly urge all of you to pick up a copy of his memoir of faith, Why I Am a Catholic. No other book offers such a clear glimpse into the Modernist mind. I’m not aware of

Every Day Is Christmas

Every December 24 — while dad builds the fire, mom preps the salmon loaf, wifey makes the eggnog, and I “test” the brandy — a wail goes up from the Davis house. It’s Elvis Presley, crying: “O why can’t every day be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly?” And we answer him, no less

Faith in the Devil

Early in our marriage, my wife vetoed the idea of celebrating Christmas in the Alpine tradition: by having Santa Claus accompanied by Krampus, your friendly neighborhood ice-demon. Of course, Mrs. Davis was amenable to the idea of a horned monster beating our children with birch rods. At least when they’re naughty. Then she realized that,