Debating and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

This post was written for fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, although anyone is welcome to read it if they choose.

Why philosophy is relevant to fellow conservatives

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

- The Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776), written by Thomas Jefferson

Philosophy today has a reputation for being a very liberal subject. And it's quite true that the discipline is today dominated by liberals, even by the standards of academic subjects. For this reason, the subject may have something of a bad name among conservatives - and to some extent, this reputation is deserved. (Some philosophers really are quite out there.)

But there are a number of historical philosophers covered in these classes whose ideas fit neatly into modern conservatism. A number of our Founding Fathers were political philosophers (many of whom had some very original contributions to the subject), and I need not remind my fellow conservatives how beloved they are to our tradition.

James Madison

Besides them, there are others that it would behoove conservatives to know a bit about, and I would like to discuss a few of these philosophers now. Before doing so, let me make clear that I am not trying to convince anyone to major or minor in philosophy, or even take a class in it. But I hope this will help my fellow conservatives to understand that not all philosophers are liberal wackos.

A review of PBS's “Truman” movie

"The Buck Stops Here."

- A sign on Truman's desk in the Oval Office

It might seem strange to hear a Republican like me say it, but I am actually a big fan of Harry Truman. He was undoubtedly a Democrat, but the Democratic Party of that time was very different from the Democratic Party of today. I have a lot of admiration and respect for him personally, as well as a lot of respect for his presidency. I once watched PBS's documentary about him, which is four hours long. Thus, I thought I'd like to offer my review of it here.

Why I'm glad I learned French

“English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.”

– Canada's “Constitution Act, 1982,” Part I, Section 16 – a major part of the Constitution of Canada, known as the “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” (1982)

I have posted much on Facebook about my attempts to learn Spanish, so my Facebook friends know a lot about my interest in the language. But I have not posted as much about French, perhaps because I learned it long before I ever joined Facebook. I'm not often asked why I learned Spanish, because the local usefulness of the language is well known here; but people sometimes wonder why I learned French. Thus, I decided to write this post to explain.