The Future in Context

Former presidents have managed to talk their way out of trouble, even if by the skin of their teeth. There may be a lesson in that for us today.

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It was part of a long tradition of world leaders paying respects at the death of a monarch. But the last one, early in the American century, was different. Yet there are contemporary lessons to be learned from the way Theodore Roosevelt, then the most popular man in the world, navigated a royal funeral 112 years ago.

In 1990, a quirky campaign run by the then upstart music channel MTV encouraged its viewers to Rock the Vote. Now, three decades later, we need a similarly audacious bid to have Americans trust the validity of the vote.

The passing of the United Kingdom's longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, sparks reflections on English history and former British kings named Charles. By George, the House of Windsor may have missed the mark on this one.

The last half century has been a period of great disillusionment. A recent NBC News poll indicated that 74 percent of the American people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. According to Gallup, the American people's general confidence in their national institutions is at an all-time low, averaging 27 percent, down from just under 50 percent in 1979. Our resident humanities scholar asks, what happens when the glue that holds our society together stops sticking?

Thomas Jefferson thought that each generation should rewrite its own founding document. A constitutional scholar talks about the changes that could have happened if Americans had taken Jefferson up on his challenge.

The 33-year ordeal of Salmon Rushdie came to head with a knife attack at a venerable cultural venue in upstate New York. That the onstage stabbing took place in America is a grim reminder of the need for eternal vigilance in defending the First Amendment.

This large and largely unpopulated western state with a rich history is pioneering a new future by setting aside several million acres of public and private land to serve as natural habitat for returning bison and other displaced animals.

Our resident humanities scholar in resident Clay Jenkinson spent a big chunk of his summer in Montana.

The state left a mark on him, as it does on the farmers and ranchers who live a strenuous life in Big Sky Country – echoing the harrowing journey made by Lewis and Clark.

Our resident humanities scholar is spending July leading tour groups that retrace the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It is an annual summer ritual, and one that has him questioning where the trail actually begins.

Assessing a terribly broken system, Alex Nowrasteh of the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute details the conflicting dynamics and possible solutions to America's illegal immigration dilemma. To him, solving the problem of illegal immigration hinges on increasing legal immigration.