Brotherly Words
Barack Obama, when he was president, had a unique opportunity which he squandered. He could have, as Nixon did, “gone to China,” that is, done something which no one else in the United States could have done with the same authority and with no danger of losing face. He could have gone to his own party and the liberals in government and education, and said, “Your policies have not been helpful to the black man,” while saying to black men, “We must rebuild the family, and now.” He did not. And a few days before I wrote these words, he belittled the “brothers” for not being sufficiently enthusiastic for the candidacy of Kamala Harris. They did not appreciate the belittlement.
Now is the time for the Christian churches to reach out to these men, as men, and to think of pragmatic means toward the revival of family life among them. We might start by giving this notice: “Brothers, among us you get no Drag Queen Story Hours.”
Anthony Esolen is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Thales College and the author of over 30 books, including Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (Tan, with a CD), Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture (Regnery), and The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord (Ignatius). He has also translated Dante’s Divine Comedy (Random House) and, with his wife Debra, publishes the web magazine Word and Song (anthonyesolen.substack.com). He is a senior editor of Touchstone.
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more from the online archives
26.5—Sept/Oct 2013
The Perils of Pragmatism in Christian Attitudes Toward the Liberal Arts by Robin Phillips
33.3—May/June 2020
Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East by Carrie Frederick Frost
Fertile Ground: A Pilgrimage Through Pregnancy by Laura S. Jansson by Agnes R. Howard
30.5—Sept/Oct 2017
on Costly Grace in Breece D'J Pancake's Flyover Country by Casey Chalk
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