I dive into what I’m calling peak America, that is the Peter McAllister (Dad) character from Home Alone. Watching this at age 41 and the movie is now a meditation on what’s worth fighting for. I get into how the McAllister house functions as a ‘castle’ for the kind of multi-generational family life that Johann Kurtz writes about in Leaving a Legacy: Inheritance, Charity, & Thousand-Year Families. I look at how Kevin’s initiation by older brother Buzz embodies what Anthony Esolen describes in No Apologies: Why Civilization Depends on the Strength of Men, a rough-and-tumble world where boys learn to build, explore, and fight. There’s even the church scene with Old Man Marley that delivers a Christmas message. I contrast all of this with the so-called ‘found family’ therapeutic culture that tells you to replace rather than reconcile.

Celebrating the chaos, the legacy, the adventure of family life, and a classic movie for Christmas 2025.

Intro: The Drifters’ “White Christmas”

Credit to the Aaron M. Renn episode Why Families Are Fleeing Cities | Bobby Fijan

Outro: Mel Torme’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

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