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Bloody Sunday, Black Friday, and Christmas

In the opening track to their now-classic 1983 album, War, Irish rock band U2 sang about “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” I can’t believe the news today Oh, I can’t close my eyes and make it go away … Broken bottles under children’s feet Bodies strewn across the dead-end street But I won’t heed the battle call It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall Bono was supposedly singing about the “Bloody Sunday” of January 20, 1972, in which 26 unarmed protesters were shot by British troops in Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. Continue Reading...

Christmas and the Joy of Extravagance

Joseph Bottum’s name is likely familiar to many readers of Religion and Liberty: From his tenure as editor-in-chief at First Things to his lovely poetry to his essays at premier venues like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, andThe Times of London, Bottum has been a leading figure of conservative American letters for decades. Continue Reading...

Homestead Is Not the Refuge It Wants to Be

It’s getting harder and harder to have a movie that isn’t caught up in the culture wars. Franchises like the MCU, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars sagas, and Disney’s Pixar animations, which once united a broad spectrum of viewers, now get yelled at by both sides, either for not being progressive enough on the one hand or being too “woke” on the other. Continue Reading...

Lee Edwards: A Conservative for All Seasons

Dr. Lee Edwards, historian of the American conservative movement and self-professed “admirer of the Acton Institute and its important work,” passed away last week at the age of 92. Edwards was more than a scholar of the conservative movement: He was a pivotal person in it. Continue Reading...

Treating Family like Royalty

Many years ago, an acquaintance of my wife’s and mine married a Habsburg. She was not of noble stock—just a good ol’ American girl whose beauty piqued the interest of a European archduke during a visit to the states. Continue Reading...