Latest
Articles
The Latest Articles page serves as a resource for interns, alumni, and emerging leaders seeking to deepen their understanding of public life, civic leadership, and the principles that sustain a free society. As part of our commitment to intellectual formation and civic engagement, these writings are intended to challenge assumptions, encourage thoughtful reflection, and equip future leaders to navigate complex issues with wisdom, integrity, and respect for differing perspectives. All of our latest articles and resources can be found below.
LATEST ARTICLES
The Oratory and the Republic
Every right carries a responsibility because every right protects a relationship–the relationship between spouses, neighbors, etc. A society that abandons this notion will eventually demand from a leviathan what only families, churches, schools, and neighborhoods can provide: formation.
The Holy Matrimony of Faith and Reason
The problem facing the modern West is not merely political, economic, or institutional. It is anthropological. Modern man has forgotten what the human person is, what the human person is for, and how the faculties of the soul are meant to exist in harmony under Truth.
The Integrated Servant Leader
Do you know who you are apart from what you produce? Apart from your successes or failures? Our identity shapes our perspective of ourselves and others. When we are rooted in Christ, we are freed from seeing ourselves through the lens of insecurity, pride, comparison, or performance.
Rooted Statesmanship: An Appreciation of, and Response to, the Work of Trey Brock
Hillsdale College graduate Trey Brock is an exceptional human being. A model student-athlete who mastered Hillsdale’s extraordinarily challenging curriculum while winning four letters in football for the Chargers.
The Roots Beneath the Republic
Abraham Lincoln, in his undelivered speech "Fragment on the Constitution" and the Union, described the Declaration of Independence as “the apple of gold” and the Constitution as the “frame of silver” built around it to preserve and protect it. Few metaphors have captured our founding more clearly.
The Stewardship of the “Little Platoon”
In my first experiences working on local campaigns as a teenager, I came to a realization that felt heavier than I expected: government isn’t just a distant institution in Washington, D.C. In practice, it’s much closer to home. It’s a handful of volunteers, a neighborhood conversation, a name on a ballot.
Duty: The Forgotten Virtue (Recovering Responsibility in an Age of Convenience)
What if duty is not merely something required of us, but something that gives shape to a life well lived? As Cicero argued, all good actions arise from the faithful keeping of our responsibilities—and to neglect them is to discredit.
Following Wisdom
In early 1900’s America, President Theodore Roosevelt saw a storm brewing within Europe and made a claim: “Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” What President Roosevelt stated here is a long-recognized, but often forgotten in action, practice of statesmanship: prudence. Prudence is practical wisdom.
The Comment That Changed Everything: My Journey Through Motherhood and ELP
If there is hope for the next 250 years of this country, it will not come from louder arguments or more complex systems alone. It will come from people who take seriously the responsibility of what they pass on.
The Fire of Patriotism
In his famous speech "A Time for Choosing," Ronald Reagan stated, "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children, this the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness." His charge does not apply to only one generation, but every generation of Americans, young and old.
Gratitude is the First Step Toward Victory
Generation Z is ungrateful. The victim identity that has plagued our first-world country stems from a lack of gratitude and remembrance for the past. Despite the thankless stereotype Generation Z is facing, we still have an opportunity to change it. Stepping into the Victor Circle starts with gratitude and ends with a better society.
Beyond Success: The Pursuit of Significance — A COS Intern Story
As I observed the world around me, I noticed many people were motivated to elevate themselves and add value to their own lives. In contrast, I reflected on my role models—those who have inspired me—and realized that the individuals I admire most are those who live with a focus on significance.