Robert E. Lee and the Nine Worthies
Is it a good thing for a Catholic publication to promote the life of Robert E. Lee as an example to be imitated?
The Fight for Our Lives
…think, “Oh, the pendulum will just swing back.” That is to forget the role of human agency. A hand can grab a pendulum and hold it. There is no swinging…
Lord Acton, Confederate Sympathizer
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Among Catholic students of political thought, few figures are more liable to provoke vigorous debate than does this famous dictum’s author, Cambridge University history lecturer John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, a.k.a., the 1st Lord Acton, Catholic godfather of classical liberalism. Where Acton’s critics identify classical liberalism as a … Read more
Defy Mob Justice by Celebrating the Life of Robert E. Lee
On October 12, 1870, a good man closed his eyes on this world. Although loved by many, and respected by most at the time of his death, history has since laden Robert E. Lee with abuse and hatred. The change has been long coming, but Dylann Roof’s 2015 racist shooting raised disgust to a fever … Read more
Robert E. Lee’s Visage Becomes a Target of Mob Protests
In an unforgettable scene in the film Dr. Zhivago, the adaptable lawyer Komarovski bellows from the foot of the frozen stairs, where he had been flung by the eponymous hero: “We’re all made from the same clay, you know!” Komarovski, whose name suggests “mosquito” in Russian, is not a card-carrying communist, but a broad-minded member … Read more
Is Lee a Victim of Political Opportunism?
There is talk in New Orleans right now of tearing down a statue of Civil War general Robert E. Lee that adorns the (locally, almost equally famous) Lee Circle in New Orleans. Mayor Mitch Landrieu is seeking to replace the statue of Lee, as well as one of P.G.T. Beauregard, with “symbols that reflect the culture, unity, … Read more