One of the most perceptive conservative essayists we know of, today joins the ranks of America Blog guest contributors. Bill Moloney travels the six continents and the seven seas, filing from everywhere in his distinctively cultured voice as a defender of the permanent things.
Our Racial Tragedy as Lincoln Saw It
Don't let anthem protesters set your agenda
What if it's not possible to be both a good Muslim and a good American?
Can a good Muslim be a good American? Brian, a constitutional scholar, put the question to Michael, a national security expert, as we passed the Washington office of Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim to serve there. Ellison’s decision to be sworn in on the Quran still echoes controversially.
Can we keep America exceptional?
President Obama insists that America is not exceptional. Yet for his flawed economic policies to work, he must rely on an amazing degree of exceptionalness. Like any nation, we are not exempt from the consequences of ill-considered choices. We have the advantage of observing the outcome that decades of overspending and social profligacy have caused in Europe -- welfare dependency, oppressive taxation and insurmountable debt. And riots.
America is indeed exceptional in many important ways: freedom, innovation, opportunity, honor. But bloated government outlays and intrusive, business-thwarting regulations bring economic collapse, even here.