Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

At this time of year we have the opportunity to appreciate those values most important to us.

For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to contemplate who He was and still is, why He was sent to us and to reflect on His message.

For all, it is a time to turn a page to a new year, a time to start anew.

How do you plan to spend this precious time? May I suggest some time for introspection, to contemplate what is important to you, to reflect on what your heart tells you.  To remember the  injunctions to love your neighbor and to treat others as you would have them treat you, principles that are as sound today as they always have been.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Norm Pineault 

The Future of Modern Conservatism

In an interview article in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend entitled "The Crises in American Self-Government" by Sohrab Ahmari, Professor Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University is quoted as follows:

"We have now an American political party and a European one. Not all Americans who vote for the European party want to be Europeans. But it doesn't matter because that's what they are voting for. They're voting for dependency, for lack of ambition, and for insolvency."

Needless to say, Professor Mansfield does not approve. He is a conservative who has taught for fifty years in a liberal institution. His political views are based on a philosophy that goes back to the Greek philosophers to Tocqueville and others who he finds are "timeless and universally relevant".

From that perspective, he characterizes the Obama presidency as revealing "-the exhaustion of the progressive agenda of which his presidency is the spiritual culmination".

Professor Mansfield, however, remains optimistic for America's future. He bases his outlook on our history, our values and our constitutional foundation. To see more of what he has to say, refer to the WSJ article on the link cited below.

What are your views as to the future of modern conservatism and its role in America's way forward? Comments are welcomed.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323751104578149292503121124.html