It is difficult to think of two world leaders more widely divergent from one another.  Gerald Ford, the 38^th President of the United States, is admired today for his lifelong commitment to decency, honesty, and integrity. 

Today I write of President Ford and the liberal arts. The liberal arts are transformative.

For many Americans the rule by a “meritocracy” seems as self-evident as the truths articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

We have commented before in this space on the problem of polarization.

Judy and family, I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to David than this “grand gathering” of Grand Rapidians.

Nine years ago I wrote an essay on patriotism, highlighted by my son’s exceedingly American golf shirt.

I write of freedom. It’s that time of year when, on either side of the summer solstice, a federal holiday draws Americans’ attention to freedom.

Back when I was an undergraduate, one of my professors recommended to me a book by the psychologist Julian Jaynes.

On June 15, 2023, three days before Fathers Day, I had the opportunity to spend time with Tom Brady Jr. and Tom Brady Sr. when they came to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I’ll admit it: I’m biased. I attended a religiously-affiliated undergraduate college, and then went to a Catholic graduate school, and spent my career teaching at schools with religious missions.

My friend James Matthew Wilson recently wrote an essay over at Public Discourse that highlights an essential issue we rarely spend time discussing: the need to belong.

How could Gerald Ford, a fiscally conservative Republican, work with the liberal Democrats of his generation led by John F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, and Tip O’Neill?

One of the more tiresome tropes that has emerged over the last seven years is the phrase “a threat to our democracy.”

Perhaps the most remarkable Boy Scout Annual Awards Dinner in scouting history took place at the Sheraton-Park Hotel in Washington, DC, on the evening of December 2, 1974.

In all the handwringing over so-called “populism,” much can be gleaned about our current politics when certain groups see their inferiors as exercising the franchise in the wrong way…

This panic-inducing headline from a recent story in the NYTimes found analogues in most stories that reported on the recent release of national civics and history tests administered to 8th graders.

One of the first lessons we learn in the Bible is that it is not good for man to be alone.

Back in October we at the Ford Leadership Forum partnered with Baylor University to host an event on fragility and resilience.

I had a colleague at Hope College who was extremely liberal.

Many of our cultural battles are intensified by our lack of imagination.