View Post

The Firemen’s Ball: When Comedy Made Ideology Cringe

In Opinion by Michael Rae

Miloš Forman was an incredibly famous director in the 1980s, when his Amadeus (1984) won eight Oscars out of 11 nominations, and Ragtime (1981) also received eight nominations, period pieces about music’s potential for social transformation, overcoming prejudices or conventions, and making a new world. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute

View Post

Threats to Religious Freedom in Australia

In Opinion by Michael Rae

Australia is a liberal democracy and commonly celebrated as a model of multiculturalism. Its legal framework could be described as a Westminster appropriation of American republicanism. Section 116 of the Australian constitution states: “The Commonwealth [federal government] shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.” Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute

View Post

The Habsburg Way and Ours

In Opinion by Michael Rae

Lord Acton believed that “the only real political noblesse on the Continent is the Austrian.” In The Habsburg Way, Eduard Habsburg, archduke of Austria and Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta, has written a charming and insightful book. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute

View Post

David Brooks Is onto Something. Christians Take Note.

In Opinion by Michael Rae

It has taken some time but there are signs that the cultural elites, members of what has been called America’s “ruling class,” have started to engage in some long overdue self-examination as it relates to their engagement with populist dynamics, especially as represented in the figure of Donald Trump. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute

View Post

South Africa and the Merit of Merit

In Opinion by Michael Rae

In 1994 a momentous change unfolded at the southern tip of Africa as the oppressive regime of apartheid came to a peaceful end. The African National Congress (ANC) and its revered leader, Nelson Mandela, took the reins of power, and at first glance everything progressed perfectly—liberal democracy had won the day. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute