American Culture

“We’re going to come to a solution, if we ever do, one person at a time, by holding ourselves accountable, speaking in wisdom, and committing to be part of the solution rather than merely ratcheting up the rage.” - Dan Olinger

“I think Harris is onto something, but I don’t think his distinction between the ‘bland’ and the ‘flamboyant’ quite captures it. I think the distinction is between ‘normalcy’ and ‘disruption.’” - Veith

“Preoccupied as they were with political victories and strategies, movement conservatives were not very attentive to how the deeper beliefs and sentiments of people were evolving in the United States. Yet, political power is circumscribed by the culture of voters and what it will make them accept or reject.” - W. Examiner

“huge proportions of people associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good. That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches.

“It is not that all individuals are level-headed, or reflective, or kind, or merciful. It is that level-headedness, or introspection, or kindness, or mercy are only possible for individuals.

According to the study, “Christian nationalism is the leading predictor that one engaged in more frequent incautious behavior related to COVID-19” and the “second strongest predictor that Americans took fewer precautions like wearing a mask or sanitizing/washing one’s hands.” - CPost

Podcast: “In this episode I am joined by New York Times columnist Ross Douthat to discuss his latest book, The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success.” - Russell Moore

“A civilization that hates itself and a culture that thinks its own customs, values, and traditions are evil and not worth continuing has committed suicide….What a culture or civilization does not pass down to the next generation is lost. It ceases to exist. That is how a society commits cultural suicide.” - Veith

“Music today has been reduced to a performance. We listen to someone else sing. We can go to concerts, download music, or stream it via the internet. If we sing ourselves, we emulate the performers, whether in the shower or in a karaoke bar. Even music education, it seems to me, has become oriented to training professional performers, as opposed to making music for personal or corporate expression.” - Veith