Author: Ellen Finnigan

Like most Americans, I spent a lot of time in front of the ol’ boob tube in my youth, but I haven’t had a television in my house for over fifteen years.  Recently, I was feeling very out of touch. To put my finger back on the pulse of American culture, my friend suggested a “Netflix binge.” I didn’t have time, obviously, to watch every show that had been recommended to me in the last fifteen years, so I decided to watch only the first ten minutes of each one. All I can say is: The more things change, the … Continue reading →

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Over the past decade or so I have witnessed some disturbing trends at church. One would have thought that our Lord Jesus Christ had, himself, worn a government-issued uniform, given how much reverence, gratitude, and appreciation we are led to collectively express for these folks during Mass. At first, it was a weekly prayer “for the troops,” which is fine. There is no human being, alive or dead, who doesn’t need prayers. However, we never prayed for the innocent civilians in the countries Americans had invaded, who were killed, maimed, and tortured in far greater numbers than Americans. We never … Continue reading →

The post Churches Join the State appeared first on LewRockwell.

The first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) has been released. Oh no. Here we go. I admit: When it comes to Star Wars, I am way too emotionally involved. I was born the year after Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) was released and thanks to the technology of Beta and VHS (we were a VHS family), the original trilogy provided a major backdrop to my childhood. I attribute the development of my personality, in part, to my idolization of Princess Leia. When we played in our basement, I didn’t picture myself as a princess … Continue reading →

The post Put Down Thy Lightsaber appeared first on LewRockwell.

The first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) has been released. Oh no. Here we go. I admit: When it comes to Star Wars, I am way too emotionally involved. I was born the year after Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) was released and thanks to the technology of Beta and VHS (we were a VHS family), the original trilogy provided a major backdrop to my childhood. I attribute the development of my personality, in part, to my idolization of Princess Leia. When we played in our basement, I didn’t picture myself as a princess … Continue reading →

The post Put Down Thy Lightsaber appeared first on LewRockwell.

Desmond Doss was a real man but he seems more like the stuff of legend. Being a bit of a loner, small in stature, and meek, he was probably the last person anyone would ever peg for a potential war hero. He enlisted in the Army during the second world war because he believed in the cause. He only had one condition: He would not carry a gun. Make that two: He would not work on Saturdays. Though he did not receive an extensive formal education as a young man in West Virginia, he did receive excellent spiritual formation as … Continue reading →

The post The Military Hero Who Never Killed appeared first on LewRockwell.

This month we’ve seen a strange confluence of developments, anniversaries, and events bringing the subject of “women and war” to the editorial pages of national newspapers and to the fore of the public consciousness. Last week, the US Senate Armed Services Committee included a Selective Service registration requirement for women in its version of the NDAA, making it likely that after a century of pursing freedom and equality—oftentimes in terms of a right to ownership over one’s own body—women might finally have an equal shot at indentured servitude. At Scripps College in Claremont, California, some students and faculty protested the … Continue reading →

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In this 1970 issue of the student paper at Notre Dame, Scholastic, there is a story about The Program for the Study and Practice of the Nonviolent Resolution of Human Conflict followed by a page of 200 names, names of students who were signing off on the following statement: “Believing that the United States is waging an unjust war in Viet Nam, if ordered for induction, we the undersigned will refuse. We will not serve in the military as long as the war in Viet Nam continues.” The story is about the controversial actions of hundreds of students who had … Continue reading →

Over the past decade or so I have witnessed some disturbing trends at church. One would have thought that our Lord Jesus Christ had, himself, worn a government-issued uniform, given how much reverence, gratitude, and appreciation we are led to collectively express for these folks during Mass. At first, it was a weekly prayer “for the troops,” which is fine. There is no human being, alive or dead, who doesn’t need prayers. However, we never prayed for the innocent civilians in the countries Americans had invaded, who were killed, maimed, and tortured in far greater numbers than Americans. We never … Continue reading →