Manners: The Domain of “Obedience to the Unenforceable”
Mark Twain once wrote that “Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater.” One of the unique things about manners is that although they are a sort of “rules,” they are, in the end, only self-imposed. They are a matter of right conduct, rather than legal compulsion. What do I mean? Well, think about […]
Manners: The “Petty Sacrifices” that Show Respect
Sometimes it seems as though good manners have gotten a bad rap these days. That the vulgar and unrefined is celebrated far more than the decent and polite. Whether in business and politics or show business and the arts, the so-called American nobility seems rather less noble than ever. Now, I’m sure I sound like […]
Where are our men of abilities?
Yesterday, we observed that the primary civic institution is the family. And while it is true that we cannot neglect our obligations to that first and most fundamental institution, we all still have civic duties that extend beyond it. In the midst of the American Revolution, on March 27, 1779, George Washington wrote a letter […]
The Family: The First and Most Important Civic Institution
Thu 3/7/2024 8:08 AM One of the errors we contemporary Americans are prone to make is to confuse civics with politics. We often think of civics entirely in terms of government institutions, voting for political candidates, asserting our constitutional rights, or petitioning our city councils. To be sure, civics and politics are intimately connected, but […]
Civics is a Reflection on Human Nature
The Federalist Papers were a series of essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, under the penname Publius. They were an attempt to persuade the newly independent American states to ratify—that is, vote to approve—the Constitution. While our founders knew that virtuous citizens were necessary for our system of self-government to work, […]
Voting, Virtue, and the Meaning of Self-government
Tue 3/5/2024 9:11 AM This week we’re talking about civics. Americans love to speak of self-government. We’re proud of the fact that we exchanged the despotism of King George III for a representative government in the form of a democratic republic. We love the words of the Declaration of Independence, that governments “deriv[e] their just […]
Civics: Knowledge and Virtue for Liberty
This week, we will consider the subject of civics, which is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens. It is not just for people who are into politics or philosophy. You all will study civics in your time here at CCA, because you all are citizens. Of course, civic education is not unique to America. Every society […]
Uniquely Fostering Moral Imagination Through Classic Literature
Recently, I was thumbing through the pages of books I had the privilege to teach to Upper School scholars in times past. I started thinking about the purpose of them. Afterall, good stories tackle the fundamental question of what it means to be human and among other great ideas, how to live with each other […]
