“Do you ever wonder what it was like to live through the fall of the Roman Republic? It took about a century. A sharp rise in street violence in the 130s and 120s BC was a warning sign, but even more ominous — we see this now with the wisdom of hindsight — was the slow draining of public confidence in the governing apparatus of the state. That confidence is the currency that purchases the golden talisman of legitimacy: a big, abstract word that suddenly impinges like a hammer when the streams that feed it fail.
“It can be difficult to get one’s bearings in that situation. You look around and, despite the revolution in public sentiment, most of the familiar social paraphernalia persist. See: there are the congressmen and the buildings they occupy. They were in session just last week. The president of the United States was talking, sort of, about… well, we can leave that for another day. But still, there are policemen, the IRS, lawyers — lots of lawyers — schools and colleges, courts and judges.
“The difference is that none of these people or entities enjoys the level of public confidence — the measure, again, of legitimacy — they enjoyed even a decade ago. Here’s the dirty little secret: no matter what happened to Trump in lower Manhattan — whether or not he was convicted or walked — the prestige of American justice has suffered a serious attack of scrofula.”
-Roger Kimball, “Trump found guilty in America’s first-ever Stalinist trial,” The Spectator.
“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”
-Unnamed U.S. major, quoted by Peter Arnett of the Associated Press after the Battle of Ben Tre, Jan. 31, 1968.
American Stuff
Protecting America’s Promise – Ronald Lauder at The New Criterion.
The Case for Cartel Wars – John Daniel Davidson at The Spectator.
Denali National Park bridge crew ordered to stop flying American flags – Joel Davidson at Alaska Watchman.
News Media
How The New York Times Went Woke – Nellie Bowles at Persuasion.
Israel
Conservative Christians are lending support – and cash – to Israel at war – Jaclyn Diaz at NPR.
Lou Lenart: A Hero for our Tenebris Times – Michael Oren at Clarity.
Campus Protests
My message to Columbia’s sane students – Douglas Murray at The Free Press.
Some employers are reluctant to hire college grads who attended Palestinian protests, survey finds – Sawdah Bhaimiya at MSN.
The Letter of the 500 – Nathan Sharansky at Tablet Magazine.
The new Stalinism? – Ethan Green at The Critic Magazine.
This ‘Cowboy’ Wants to Teach Princeton Kids About Greatness – Francesca Block at The Free Press.
Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” – Matt Taibbi at Racket News.
British Stuff
King Crimson – my thoughts on that portrait – Chris Green at Ministry Nuts and Bolts.
Faith
‘I Will Not Forget You’: Hope in the Grief of Dementia – Kathryn Butler at Desiring God.
Christians are still being persecuted in Egypt – Lizzie Francis a The Critic Magazine.
‘A step back in time’: America’s Catholic Church sees an immense shift toward the old ways – Tim Sullivan at Associated Press.
Writing and Literature
Reading Photographs as Texts for Narrative Inspiration – Nathan Glower at CrimeReads.
Panegyric for G.K. Chesterton – Ronald Knox at The Imaginative Conservative.
Novels in Unusual Forms – Lincoln Michel at Counter Craft.
Remembering Paul Auster – various authors at Literary Hub.
Why Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch? – Kate Dwyer at Esquire Magazine.
Poetry
“Birthday,” poem by Ted Kooser – Megan Willome at Poetry for Life.
The UK Blessing – UK Churches
Painting: The Reader, oil on canvas (1861) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883); St. Louis Art Museum.
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