A Blog on McConnell Center Life

Jared Thomas ('20) There’s no quiet on the Great Wall. Once upon a time, sure, maybe, it’s easy imagine stone-faced young guns with more freckles than   facial hair looming out over the misty mountains cold, eyes squinted against the sun, hands clasped on bronze handles, waiting for the dreamy sound of war drums rattling just over the horizon, all alone at the end of the world except for the almost silent sound of the wind’s whistling retreat from somewhere far away.       Of course, by the time I came around, that was all gone, more or less. I mean, what else did you expect? The Wall’s barely a wall anymore-It’s glorified stone Swiss cheese winding and grinding through decapitated mountain tops that steam with tourist sweat more than they do anything else.   The quiet’s been replaced by the constant clicking on and off of camera lens, with the shivering slivers of shutting shutters and by a verifiable Babylon of different languages that dren...

Celia Cusick ('20) During my travels to China, it became quite clear that many familiar social norms and practices no longer applied. It seemed almost as if our customs and norms had been flipped on their head and were the accepted practice in China, which is to say the differences were very apparent. However, I was thankful because I believe that exposure to cultural differences is one of the most valuable takeaways from traveling. In an increasingly connected world, it is imperative to learn about other cultures for professional purposes, and personal development. You have everything to gain aside from sacrificing familiarity and comfort for a few weeks. While in China, perhaps the most notable distinction was the different conceptions of personal space. Personal space in the United States is a precious, fiercely defended concept. We teach children from a young age to remain “in their own bubble” and to respect others as well. Minding your own business is a wide...

{Bookshelf Recommendation } Vital Remnants: America’s Founding and the Western Tradition  Edited by Gary L. Gregg, II (ISI Books, 1999) Recommended by  Dr. Bradley J. Birzer , Hillsdale College Book review originally printed online by  The Imaginative Conservative  (reprinted  in part here with permission) Dr. Bradley J. Birzer Twenty years ago the Intercollegiate Studies Institute published  Vital Remnants: America’s Founding and the Western Tradition . It was, in 1999, a great book. In 2019, it’s an even better book. Edited by Gary L. Gregg II, then ISI’s National Director,  Vital Remnants  was the product of a June 1998 conference held in Colonial Williamsburg and inspired by the last published book by Russell Kirk during his lifetime,  America’s British Culture  (1993). Introduced by Dr. Gregg,  Vital Remnants  is made up of extraordinarily insightful and advanced-thinking...