The Stump

From Decadent to Local

It’s true that we don’t yet have a colony on Mars. But countless people are living very ordinary lives and doing very ordinary things that are true, good, and beautiful.

Independent Interdependence: A Mark of Successful Communities

Clay County, MO. At first blush, independent interdependence may seem an oxymoron. Yet people exercise a kind of balance between their need for autonomy and...

Catholic Social Thought, Abraham Lincoln, and Common Good Capitalism

One need not support every economic prescription of the distributists or Lincoln. Each, however, presents certain principles that we can use to orient our economic thinking in the era of global capitalism.

Power, Friendship, and a Better Set of Democratic “Rules”

For those tired of the fake news and play hate, who are convinced by Austin and their own better natures that accomplishing something better is actually still possible within the American system, Hersh provides a detailed, 21st-century appropriate, set of his own "rules."

The Super Bowl Spectacle Sends Mixed Messages about Women

What was on display in the halftime show was not a celebration of sexuality or empowerment for women. It was an elevation of instinct.

Journeys in Trump Country

More interesting than the big-name hits and misses, though, are the everyday but often extraordinary people that she meets along the way. Some are firmly in the Trump camp; some are frustrated by their friends who are; and some are somewhere in the complicated middle.

On Being Kind

If it keeps us from flying at each other’s throats, I’ll take kindness every time. But if we seek more than survival, kindness is just the beginning.

When Protestants Became Libertarians

Protestants and American Conservatism reveals a capacious knowledge of American religious history. As skeptics of the liberal order slowly work out a positive vision for the republic, they now know that they have forebears from which to learn, both in their success and defeats.

What Is Your Vote?

I’m not asking what candidate you support. What I am asking you to consider is what does your vote constitute? This question was spurred by...

Presidential Politics: Pseudo Choices and a Third Party Worth Considering

The 2020 presidential election cycle has been in full swing for months now, and we are still almost a year away from casting our...