Image: The Conversion of Saint Augustine, Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – 1455) By Scott Strgacich The celebrated American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called him “the first great ‘realist’ in Western history.” He spent much of his early life as a Manichean living in carnal sin with a concubine. He was a first-rate philosophical mind, schooled in … Continue reading “The End of These Miseries”: Augustine of Hippo on Realism and Societal Collapse
By Scott Strgacich Erected in the 12th century BCE, the spectacular Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu boasts 75,350 square feet of reliefs and decorated walls. Like his namesake Ramesses II (the Great), Ramesses III enthusiastically assumed the pharaonic duty of constructing imposing temples upon which his memory was to be emblazoned. On … Continue reading Pharaohs and Presidents: A Tale of Two Empires
By Caroline Caywood On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian empire was brutally assassinated, sparking a chain of events that would lead to one of the most bloody and widespread conflicts of modern history. The First World War raged on for four long years and encompassed more than 100 countries, resulting in … Continue reading The Lessons of World War I
Image: Natalie Wu By Caroline Caywood Since the arrival of the earliest settlers, America has adopted the ideal of a “city upon a hill” which is looked to as a shining example of justice, liberty, and peace. Over the past few centuries, this has been employed as a tenant of American Exceptionalism, westward expansion, and … Continue reading Separate Peace: How Democratic Peace Theory Undermines American Interests Abroad
Image: Natalie Wu By Scott Strgacich The Korean War of 1950 to 1953 was modern America’s first public opinion war. For the first time, Gallup, Incorporated conducted polling that actually fluctuated with the course of the conflict. Five years earlier, the initial loss of Pacific holdings to the Japanese, the ineffectiveness of the Allied strategic … Continue reading The Korean War and the Need for Atonement
