Thomas Sowell once wrote: “There have always been ignorant people, but they haven't always had college degrees to make them unaware of their ignorance. Some people imagine that they are well informed because they have memorized a whole galaxy of trendy dogmas and fashionable attitudes.1” I do not quote that comfortably. I teach at a … Continue reading Credentialed and Unprepared: Systems, Persistence, and the Slow Education of a Practitioner
Boundaries, Belonging, and the Meaning of Citizenship
The recent announcement that the Department of War will condition its support for Scouting America on the rollback of certain diversity initiatives has been framed as another chapter in the culture wars. Perhaps it is. But as I have watched the debate unfold, I have found myself less interested in the political skirmish and more … Continue reading Boundaries, Belonging, and the Meaning of Citizenship
What We Rename and What Remains
Names fascinate me because they promise clarity while quietly concealing continuity. A new label suggests a new reality, yet the older structure often remains intact beneath the paint. Watching institutions rename themselves feels a bit like standing on a riverbank; the surface moves quickly, but the current below keeps its direction. The renewed use of … Continue reading What We Rename and What Remains
When Xenos Becomes Polemios
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all1. This essay began, as many reflections do, not with an argument but with a voice. While listening to the audiobook of Heroes, narrated by Sir Stephen Fry himself, I was struck by how insistently Greek myth returns to the theme of hospitality—its obligations, its violations, … Continue reading When Xenos Becomes Polemios
De Flexibilitate: The Legend of Severus Arellius Gumbus
In the winter of 52 BCE, as Caesar pressed his campaign to crush the Gallic coalition, the Roman legions found themselves facing disaster near the town of Alesia—the stronghold of the chieftain Vercingetorix1. Two armies boxed Rome in Inside the city walls: Vercingetorix and his starving defenders Outside the walls: a massive Gallic relief force … Continue reading De Flexibilitate: The Legend of Severus Arellius Gumbus
The Penultimate General of Alabama’s Forgotten Militia
While updating my earlier posts on Honorary Colonelcy in Alabama and on the slow atrophy of the Alabama State Defense Force, I kept circling the same name: MG (AL, Ret.) Ronald G. Noland. At first he appeared only in obituaries and faculty listings. Then an archived copy of the ASDF’s own website from June 19, … Continue reading The Penultimate General of Alabama’s Forgotten Militia
Brave Knights for Cruel Enemies
C. S. Lewis once wrote: “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” I find myself returning to that line out of a growing unease that we may be making … Continue reading Brave Knights for Cruel Enemies
