Taking a Stand
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Summer 2008 | Volume 18 | Number 3 Religion Inside this issue Karnick Busting a Pop Culture Illusion • Nothstine Spiritual Enterprise • Schmiesing Corruption in Catholic Boston • Walker Eliot, Liberty Kirk and the Moral Imagination • In the Liberal Tradition Alexander Solzhenitsyn • & Sirico The Envy Trap Taking A Stand An interview with Governor Mark Sanford A Journal of Religion, Economics, and Culture Editor’s Note dynamic in our interview that you prob- Philip F. Lawler’s The Faithful Departed: ably won’t see in other interviews with The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture and the governor, and that focuses on his Ray Nothstine reviews Theodore views of faith in the public square and Roosevelt Malloch’s Spiritual Enterprise: what that means going forward in the Doing Virtuous Business. Schmiesing clearly current political climate. explains the reasons for the breach be- tween Boston’s Catholic leaders and the S.T. Karnick is the editor of the American laity. He also effectively pulls in “Acton’s Culture website, and we are fortunate to spin“ on Lawler’s work for our readers. feature a piece by him titled “Busting a Nothstine’s review of Spiritual Enterprise is Pop Culture Illusion.“ Karnick explains valuable in that it recognizes there are Currently there are serious concerns how Disney promotes the “life-without- moral deficiencies in the business world. about economic prosperity in a nation limits mindset.“ He also calls this mindset Additionally, just as society needs moral that has for so long benefited from tre- “one of the main progenitors of modern, reform to be healthy moving forward, mendous economic growth and stability. statist liberalism.“ He praises the film moral reform needs to extend to an even Likewise, some are deeply troubled about Marley and Me, calling it “an excellent greater degree in the commercial sector. government proposed solutions and antidote to the Disney myth and the uto- cures for our economic ailments. South pianism of modern liberalism.“ In a Religion & Liberty issue where I believe Carolina’s governor Mark Sanford brings we have written about and defended a lot Bruce Edward Walker offers some ex- substantial thought and credibility to of moral truths, it is so appropriate to give cellent thoughts concerning the conser- free-market ideas while articulating the a voice to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who’s vatism of T.S. Eliot and Russell Kirk. danger of greater centralized power. haunting, timeless, and most importantly, Both men, because of their faith back- truth telling words were pivotal in crush- Those paying attention to current events ground, rightly recognized that the ing Marxist-Leninism. His story and words will be well aware that Governor San- moral order rises above ideological fer- are forever appreciated by those who ford has risen to be perhaps the chief vor and Walker eloquently depicts the cherish the kind of liberty that is fastened voice in opposing bailout and stimulus consequences on society and culture with a moral fabric upon the heart. legislation out of Washington, no matter when the moral tradition wanes. which political party is pushing more spending. We also add another important Kevin Schmiesing offers a review of Editorial Board Contents Publisher: Rev. Robert A. Sirico Taking a Stand: Governor Mark Sanford ......................... 3 Executive Editor: John Couretas Busting a Pop Culture Illusion: S.T. Karnick ............... 4 Editor: Rev. Raymond J. de Souza Spiritual Enterprise: Ray Nothstine ................................... 6 Managing Editor: Ray Nothstine Power and Corruption in Catholic Boston: Kevin Schmiesing .................................................................... 7 Graphics Editor: Peter Ho Acton FAQ ........................................................................... 8 The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty promotes a free so- Eliot, Kirk and the Moral Imagination: ciety characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. Bruce Edward Walker ............................................................... 9 Letters and requests should be directed to: Religion & Liberty; Acton Institute; 161 Ottawa Ave., NW, Suite 301; Grand Rapids, MI 49503. For archived is- Double-Edged Sword ..................................................... 10 sues or to subscribe, please visit www.acton.org/publicat/randl. In the Liberal Tradition: Alexander Solzhenitsyn ........... 14 The views of the authors expressed in Religion & Liberty are not necessarily Column: Rev. Robert A. Sirico ............................................. 15 those of the Acton Institute. © 2009 Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. 2 Religion& Liberty Taking A Stand: An Interview with Governor Mark Sanford Mark Sanford was elected South Carolina’s You’ve taken a very principled approach in Not just for an election or election cycle governor in 2002 and won a second term in working for smaller government, lower taxes, but on a prolonged basis. And that’s what 2006, becoming only the third two-term gov- individual liberty, and, for fostering a culture it will take to turn the tide. Really, that is ernor in modern state history. In 2008, Gov- of personal responsibility. Those principles the only thing that can turn the tide. ernor Sanford was also named chairman of are taking a battering in Washington today. However, if the status quo remains, we’re the Republican Governors Association. Can anything turn the tide? going to have profound problems coming our way that I think signal, frankly, the Prior to his election as governor in 2002, George Washington and his fairly battered undoing of our Republic. Governor Sanford served six years in the U.S. band of patriots were facing far greater House. For his consistent efforts to lower odds. The situation looked much more A lot of the debate in Washington over vari- taxes and limit government growth, he was ous bailouts and stimulus packages ranked number one in the entire Congress by focuses on how to carve up the pie. Citizens Against Government Waste. He was But shouldn’t we first be talking about rated similarly by the National Taxpayers’ bigger issues like what this tremen- Union, and Taxpayers for Common Sense dous expansion of government will inducted him into the Taxpayers Hall of mean for America’s future? Fame. Governor Sanford holds a BA degree The answer is yes at several different from Furman University, and a MBA from levels. The first level is that we are the University of Virginia’s Darden School of undoing the ultimate in economic Business. He also worked at the New York stimulus—the free market. The real office of Goldman Sachs. driver of our economy is not our As a governor, he has gained national atten- public works projects or govern- tion for his principled opposition to bailouts ment programs, the real driver of and stimulus legislation coming out of our economy is, to date, a free- Washington. He recently spoke with R&L market based system that spurs on managing editor Ray Nothstine. that young entrepreneur in the basement who’s created the product ——————————————————— of tomorrow, or that middle-ager working in the diner around the corner. All of those things that make up Adam Smith’s Invisible “The first level is that Gov. Sanford: money doesn’t come out of the sky. Hand are the real stimulus of our we are undoing the economy: the people that get up for work; those who are creating the products ultimate in economic bleak. And yet they were resolved to cre- ating the perfect union that they believed of tomorrow. We need to talk about how stimulus - the free in. And they ultimately prevailed against this money doesn’t come out of the sky. If market.“ incredibly long odds. So I think the an- you borrow it, and you have ever larger swer rests in that silent and sleeping ma- sectors of the economy driven by the jority—really making their voice heard. public sector rather than civil society, we continued on pg 11 Summer 20052008 | Volume 1518 | Number 13 3 Busting a Pop Culture Illusion By S.T. Karnick For the past several decades, American The lyrics of countless songs in Disney this longing for perfect freedom really is. popular culture has frequently promul- movies skillfully convey this dream, as gated an idea central to modern liberal- in these famous lines from the Academy The very title of the film is a clue that the ism: the idea of a life without limits, that Award-winning song from the 1940 human protagonist should be a central we can have everything we want with- Disney film Pinocchio: focus of our attention, and newspaper columnist John Grogan (Owen Wilson) out having to make hard choices. That assumption is especially evident in Walt does indeed splendidly represent the Dis- Disney movies, and not only in recent When you wish upon a star, Makes ney philosophy. Dissatisfied with his work ones. Fortunately, the makers of some no difference who you are, Anything as a columnist, at which he is highly suc- pop culture products see the absurdity cessful, he longs to be a “real reporter“ your heart desires Will come to you. and danger of that notion. like his friend Sebastian, who gets to in- If your heart is in your dream No terview important political figures and is The life-without-limits mindset, derived published in The New York Times. Of course, request is too extreme When you most directly from the ideas of the eigh- once John achieves his dream of being a teenth century French philosopher Jean- wish upon a star As dreamers do. reporter, he doesn’t like it and wants the Jacques Rousseau (one of the main pro- freedom he had as a columnist. genitors of modern, statist liberalism), is an essential foundation of modern liberalism The reality, of course, is that everybody’s The reluctance to accept the limits reality and has an important corollary that per- life does have limits, and that we often imposes on all of us is manifested also in vades leftist politics: that the only thing that have to make hard choices between im- the difficulty John has in deciding stops each of us from achieving our life perfect alternatives.