The divorce rate is declining, but for the worst reasons. Fewer and fewer people are getting married. I explain the problem for the Institute for Family Studies. The decline in marriage has also not been uniform. Wealthier and better-educated singles are more likely to get married than those who are poorer and less educated. Marriage… Read More
Category: Articles
Don’t Write Your Own Vows
At The Dispatch, I'm making a case against customized wedding vows. Promising marriage is entering an pre-existing institution, not an act of expressive individualism. Classically, the marriage vows are not about the particular couple standing at the altar—they’re about the institution the couple is choosing to enter. Classical vows (for better, for worse, etc) have… Read More
Andor’s Galaxy of Greebles
I've got an appreciation of Andor that goes hard on greebles (the small, irregular pieces of plastic that give Star Wars ships their detailed texture). It’s the greebles that gave the Empire’s ships their sense of enormity, even though they were really miniatures. A smooth-textured ship has trouble communicating its scale, especially against a field… Read More
A Tenderly Superfluous Miracle
It was my pleasure to write about Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati's second miracle for Word on Fire. His canonization hinges on the healing of a seminarian's Achilles tendon tear—not the kind of injury that seems to call for a miracle. Some ailments—a terminal cancer, a limb slated for amputation—offer no worldly source of hope. The… Read More
MAiD Makes an Idol of Autonomy
I changed my mind about euthanasia in June 2015. The world has been rushing in the other direction. For The Dispatch I explain why MAiD makes an idol of autonomy and endangers our sense of what it means to be human. Moving past the desire for “death with dignity” requires admitting that autonomy is not… Read More
The Power Broker’s Retreat from Reality
I spent my summer maternity leave reading The Power Broker (and taking care of the baby!). I was glad to get to write about Caro's masterpiece for Word on Fire. As Moses makes himself sovereign over parks, power plants, bridges, and housing, he unmakes his ability to steward what he has seized. He becomes both… Read More
Give Parents a Baby Bonus
At Deseret, I'm making the case for a baby bonus as fair and flexible help for parents and children. A “baby bonus” is an effective way to provide support to more families with fewer complications. Every family has unique needs, and flexible assistance can help parents serve the best interests of their children in their… Read More
Don’t Ask AI to Draw God
I'm at Word on Fire making the case against AI-created devotional art. Each of the children’s books on our “God shelf” has a human hand, heart, and intellect behind it. Each book grew out of the love the author and illustrator had for God, for beauty, and for the little readers to come. Thinking about… Read More
Colleges Must Offer Formation, Not Amenities
Colleges donors are starting public fights with college administrators. At Deseret, I argue that's a good thing. Colleges should be contested spaces—they need to offer values-informed formation, not a generic education. It will be tempting for schools to keep spending on extraneous amenities to capture students, especially if they see them primarily as customers, not… Read More
Making Repair Beautiful
When Plough announced an issue themed around repair, I knew I wanted to interview Grace Russo about her practice of visible mending. When Russo began repairing her clothes, it changed what kinds of new clothes she wanted to buy. When she looked at something on the rack or at a thrift store, she didn’t just… Read More