A Magazine of American Culture | Chronicles Magazine

Devil Take the Hindmost

Hell is a meritocracy. Yet in America the meritocratic ideal is universally applauded. Everyone agrees—or pretends to agree—that the angel of justice smiles upon the triumph of merit.

A recent ABC program on the death of Princess Diana reminded me that 20 years have gone by in a jiffy. She died August 31, 1997, following a car crash in the underpass of Place de l’Alma, and sent a nation, and the world, into mourning.

Chesterfield and Chesterton

Chilton Williamson, Jr.

Much of life may come down to a choice between the respective views of Lord Chesterfield, who urged his son always to excel at whatever he did, and G.K. Chesterton, who once wrote that, “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.”

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A Wide World of Winless War
Nick Turse | June 26, 2017
Globe-Trotting U.S. Special Ops Forces already deployed to 137 nations in 2017.
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The Passing of the Pelosi Era
Pat Buchanan | June 23, 2017
Just as Trump put Bush-Romney Republicanism into the dumpster in the 2016 primaries, Hillary Clinton's defeat, followed by losses in four straight special elections, portend a passing of the guard in the Democratic Party. So where is the party going?
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Arabia First
William D. Hartung | June 22, 2017
At this point, it’s no great surprise when Donald Trump walks away from past statements in service to some impulse of the moment. Nowhere, however, has such a shift been more extreme or its potential consequences more dangerous than in his sudden love affair with the Saudi royal family.
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Journalism and Mr. Jones
William Murchison | June 21, 2017
We used to hear it said, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." It seems by modern criteria to make you something even better: rich, famous, influential; a source of quotes and endorsements and speaking gigs.
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