The Fall of Religion and Republic
Whether or not he was always a pious man himself, Tocqueville stressed the importance of religion in the maintenance of a democratic society. Witnessing American life at a time when religion was the norm and atheism was the exception, he understood firsthand how religion contributed to a stable society and counteracted the forces of despotism.…
NATO’s Chamberlain Moment
With the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, the necessity of NATO for the security of Europe is clear. However, the invasion of Ukraine has also proven (again) that Russia has little regard for geopolitical norms and that our liberal order of sovereign nations is not as secure as originally believed. History has shown that authoritarian…
One Arrow, Two Hawks: Taiwan as China’s COVID Antidote
一箭双雕：one arrow, two hawks. This idiom, analogous to the Western “kill two birds with one stone,” appears frequently in Chinese politics, most recently in Xi Jinping’s recent financial sector purge: a move to simultaneously eliminate corruption while silencing political opposition. Xi’s China faces two massive targets gatekeeping its road to “great-power” status, which it has…
The Pandemic of Bureaucracy
The ongoing pandemic has exposed a variety of fault lines in our society. One such fault line lies within the bureaucratic state. This bureaucracy has always existed to a certain extent, but the existence of COVID-19 has accelerated its influence and reach. I do not mean to suggest that there exists a conspiratorial shadow government,…
Schorr: Enough is Enough
This piece was originally published in The Yale Daily News. After six months of harsh isolation in 2020, I came to Yale last summer with the hope that things would be better. Instead, my first year was marked by isolation and confusion as emails announcing new regulations arrived weekly in my inbox. With permission to…
On Pronouns
A problem arises when the person grading a given student’s assignments appears to be privileging one ideological perspective over another. It understandably gives cause for concern, regardless of whether or not said concern is grounded, leading to the loathsome problem of self-censorship.
Reject the Decline of American Pop Music
By: Abhay Rangray Music is one of the most fascinating aspects of a nation’s culture. Music not only reflects the mores and values of a given culture but also acts as a medium for emotional expression and human exaltation. Looking at the current state of popular music however, one finds troubling trends. For a variety…
Oxfam Exhibits Poverty of Facts in Global Inequality Report
By: Bernard Stanford If you were at all active on social media or read the news last month, you probably saw a report from Oxfam that made the rounds, claiming that the eight richest people have as much wealth as the bottom half of everybody on the planet. In fact, Oxfam releases a report in…
The Role of North Korea in International Peace
By: Julie Slama As President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were meeting in Mar-a-Lago in early February, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made headlines for a successful missile launch into the Sea of Japan, paired with claims that the country could already have the technology necessary to conduct a strike against the…
President Trump: A Threat to International Diplomacy?
By: Julie Slama This February, I had the opportunity to attend the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Bogota, Colombia. The summit, which drew 26 Nobel Peace Prize recipients and thousands of participants covering six continents, discussed hurdles to peace present in the world today. American presidents have a history of receiving the prize,…
Religious Freedom and the Benedict Option
The following essay drew inspiration from the Buckley Program’s dinner seminar and discussion on religious freedom with Mary Eberstadt on 1.25.17 By: Noah Daponte-Smith The past eight years have been something of a disaster for religious conservatives. President Obama may have campaigned in 2008 on an anti-gay marriage platform, but by the time he left office last week, gay marriage had…
An International Perspective on the Refugee Crisis
The Challenges of the Syrian Refugee Crisis By Karina Kovalcik In March 2011, in keeping with the Arab Spring movement sweeping through the Middle East, there were prodemocracy protests in Deraa, Syria. The people were protesting the Assad Regime in a peaceful manner over the arrest and torture of teenagers who painted revolutionary signs on…
Only Make “Promises” You Can Keep
As I waited for my twice-delayed flight to board in shimmering, subtle McGhee-Tyson Airport, Air Force One descended into Knoxville, Tennessee. This Presidential visit had no scarcity of fanfare – miles of interstate blocked off, a kaleidoscopic display of armed officers from various divisions, and even an entire floor of a local hospital occupied by…
Thoughts on the Latest Defacement
This situation presents us with the difficult question of how we ought to deal with offensive but anonymous acts of defacement based in hatred. Sure, community-wide and public condemnation of such acts and promotion of more positive and respectful attitudes are important first steps, but can we prevent these situations from occurring in the future?
The American Dream: Myth or Reality?
Leonard Schleifer, the CEO of Regeneron, is a billionaire. Regeneron, a global, extremely successful biotech company, has seen the best performance in the S&P 500 for the past three years. A little unknown fact about Schleifer though is that he started out operating a small snow-shoveling business. This surprising revelation led me to begin thinking…
Why We Must Defend Free Expression
This year, President Salovey’s freshman address was on free expression. His speech focused on a report on that topic written by a committee appointed by President Kingman Brewster. Notable among the members of the committee was Professor Woodward, Sterling Professor of History and scholar of the American South. Salovey remarked “…it is important on occasions…
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