Where Is the Wise?
Conservatism, Maturity & the Demonic
by Hans Boersma
Winston Churchill is often quoted as having said, “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain.” As an admirer both of Churchill and of the comment in question, I regret to inform our readers that we have no record of Churchill uttering this statement.
Please indulge me and allow me nonetheless to refer to the statement above as the “Churchill quote.” Let’s subject it to some reflection, for I think it contains profound wisdom. (And yes, I self-identify as over 35, conservative, and having a brain.)
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Hans Boersma is the Saint Benedict Servants of Christ Professor in Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He is a senior editor of Touchstone.
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