A Blog on McConnell Center Life

{Gregg's Bookshelf Recommendation} Russell Kirk: Surprised by the Foundations of Conservatism By  Gary L. Gregg, Ph.D Gary L. Gregg, Ph.D This fall marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Russell Kirk, someone who has been very influential in my life and whose family and home are vital aspects of the McConnell Scholar experience. In this time of great political divisions and ideological confusion, it would do everyone well to spend some time with Russell Kirk. Conservatives will find a vision that has largely been abandoned and so will find Kirk new and profound; Progressives will be surprised by sharing some core values with Kirk while being edified by seeing the very foundations of thoughtful and imaginative conservatism. Born in Plymouth, Michigan on Oct. 19, 1918, Kirk's first important book was published in 1953 as  The Conservative Mind .  Before this book hit America’s political culture, there were those who were resisting the New Deal, those who were ...

Eric Bush ('20) Is it acceptable to hunt endangered animals if you purchase an expensive permit which will ultimately fund their conservation? Should cities sell out advertising space on every inch of wall in a subway station? Or, should you be able to pay someone to stand in line for you for a Congressional hearing? In his book,  What Money Can’t Buy, The Moral Limits of Markets,  Michael Sandel considers questions such as these as he argues that we’ve moved from a having a market economy to becoming a  market society . I first heard of Sandel’s book, ironically, in another book. In Evan Osnos’  Age of Ambition,  a journalistic narrative of modern China, Osnos writes that Sandel is able to fill up arenas across China with his message about the moral limits of materialism. I was excited to read this book as part of the UofL Center for Free Enterprise’s reading group. Sandel poses this central question: at what point does the introduction of money demean...

--> Garret Kasey ('19) This summer, I had the opportunity to work as an intern for the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association. I greatly enjoyed my time with the non-profit, and I look forward to volunteering with many of their programs throughout the year. Although I learned countless lessons while on the job, I want to divulge the lessons I learned about routine, planning, and responsibility in what many people call “the real world.”             Prior to this internship, I had only worked on a relatively flexible and sporadic schedule. The typical work hours of nine to five provided me with new challenges and benefits. I hope the lessons I’ve learned will provide some insight to any new college or high school students who have not been able to work on a rigid schedule. 1.      Make sure to get enough sleep: College students often complain about pulling all-nighters and surviving on little ...

Easton Depp ('19) Yale Law School attaches an additional requirement on top of the standard documents to apply for Law School. They ask you to write 250 words on any topic. It can be an argument or a reflection, a musing or a debate. I decided to write mine on the importance of community and how I find community in a large city like Louisville. While my hobby may not be for everyone, I would encourage everyone to find a community to embrace friendship and companionship. C.S Lewis writes of friendship,             " Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival."                                               ...

Isaac Feinn ('19) With the recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, evangelicals hope that the new conservative majority will forward their ideal interpretation of law. As a member of these groups, I understand what most of the issues and desired outcomes are, and would like to contribute to the discussion about LGBTQ+ policy. Put candidly, I think Christian support for anti-LGBTQ+ policy hurts both the church’s mission to evangelize to non-believers and places an impossible task on those in the LGBTQ+ community.   Before I discuss why, I would like to acknowledge the sensitivity of the subject. If you are a Christian reading this, understand that my goal is to help strengthen the church and expand its outreach. If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community, regardless of your faith, know that Christians properly living out their faith love you just as Christ loves them. Theological arguments exist both for and against homosexuality being conside...

Claire Gothard ('19) I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Student Conference on US Affairs at West Point. At the conference, I participated in a roundtable on the Middle East and North Africa. The following policy recommendations were the product of those conversations and summarized in our policy paper. Background On the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has recently been established as a critical case study to understand the Middle Eastern political dynamics and effects of US regional policy decisions. Civil war began in 2015 when the Houthis, a group of Shi’a revolutionaries, took the capital city of Sana’a and displaced the Hadi regime. Since that March, the country has been plagued by the largest cholera outbreak in the world, resource shortages, and continued violence leaving over 14 million people at risk of starvation and 2 million displaced. In response to the civil war, Saudi Arabia has formed a coalition of Arab states to combat Houthi influence. T...

To all the things that didn’t work out the way I wanted them to… Erica Gaither ('19) I am not exaggerating when I say that the world has tested me this year. I mean at times it was as if I had been thrown down just to be stomped all over. For the first time in my life, I was hit with real rejection. The kind of rejection that has you look in the mirror and question everything that you know about yourself. In friendships, in relationships, in everyday little things- you name it, I was failing. It wasn’t until rejection coursed through the one area of my life I always thought would be safe- my education- that I had my look up at the sky and beg “why” moment. There are no words to describe the hurt of spending months filling out applications for opportunities that you’ve been told for years you’d be perfect for just to get a "thanks, but no thanks email." There are no words to describe pouring your all into people just to have ...