I had the pleasure of speaking Thursday night at Wabash College in Indiana and had made a condition of accepting that I would get to visit the Goodrich Room in the Library. I’m standing with two of my hosts under the names of Gilgamesh (one of my favorite epics) and the Mahabharata (another of my favorite epics).

It was bitter cold, but the reception was warm, the students posed quite interesting and intelligent questions, and I found the discussion very agreeable. Moreover, going to dinner with my hosts and autographing copies of Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice after the lecture were enjoyable.

The visit to the Goodrich Room was a highlight of the trip for him, and it was for us as well. The room, designed by Pierre Goodrich to show the intellectual progression of liberty throughout history, is often taken for granted by Wabash students. For us, too often, it is merely the place where the Student Senate deliberates, where fraternities hold study sessions, or where faculty occasionally meet. After Dr. Palmer’s visit, and after his explanation of the Goodrich Room’s true meaning, it will be difficult to ever view it in such a mundane light again.

If you missed Dr. Palmer’s explanation, you can take a virtual tour of the room here.

Related posts:

1. Last Phoenix of the Semester: The Goodrich Room
2. Wabash’s Monument to Liberty and Education: The History and Meaning Behind the Goodrich Room
3. TammyBruce.com: I'll Be Speaking at Wabash College Wednesday Night

“I would show up at the casting director’s office and they wanted to know, ‘Can you do Eddie Murphy? Can you rap or breakdance?’ No I can’t rap or breakdance, I’ve been in acting school studying Shakespeare!” Phillips stated, prompting a wave of laughter from the audience.

Even as a young actor, Phillips was unable to shake the fact he sounded white. A typical audition, he described, would go well, but often be accompanied by casting director asking, “Joseph, can you do it again, but this time try to sound more black.”
However, this frustration did not end once his career began to transition into writing and politics. “The accusation changed. I was no longer talking like a white boy, I was now thinking like a white boy,” said Phillips.

“To no longer have the excuse of being a child, to then point out that the substance of what you think is problematic, and somehow makes you inauthentic, is a problem. I think it’s constipating. I think it’s limiting. It confines black people into a very limited definition of who we are and who we can be.”

Joseph Phillips event was very well-attended, and enjoyed by all. Be sure to come out to our next event, Dr. Douglas Farrow, who will speak on his book, Nation of Bastards.

Related posts:

1. Joseph Phillips to Speak at Wabash
2. Joseph Phillips Enthralls Crowd
3. Mr. Joseph C. Phillips: Author, Activist, and Common Man

While discussing the future of the Court in the Obama era, Levey offered the following predictions:

While Levey admitted that it was still too early to see how left Obama would be in his nominations, he felt as though the president’s actions and speech would likely diverge. “I think it’s looking like the way he will compromise is to be very moderate in his rhetoric and liberal in his policy and appointment,” Levey said. Levey thought Obama would likely choose a Mexican or a woman to fill the next open Supreme Court justice position.

As the article notes, WCU Events Coordinator Nick Maraman ‘10 interned for the Committee for Justice in D.C. during the fall 2008 semester and was excited to help bring Levey to campus. As he said in the article:

“I really took up the cause [of judicial activism] last fall, because I think that judicial activism is a problem and it needs to be righted,” Maraman said. “I don’t think that the public understands exactly what it is and what the dangers of it are.”

No doubt after last night’s event, many more people do.

Read the full story

Related posts:

1. The Struggle for the Courts
2. The Struggle for the Courts
3. Protecting the Judiciary: Curt Levey and the Committee for Justice

An unabashed conservative, Bruce made a strong case for her beliefs before a packed crowd:

A significant amount of Bruce’s argument for small government stemmed from instances where the government had failed to act effectively. “When we think back in the past eight years, was government a point for good after Katrina? How good was government there? Is government good when it comes to the mold at Walter Reed hospital? Has government been good for you when you go to the damn DMV?” said Bruce. She added that the impersonal nature of government was a major reason that it was ineffective. “Any place where you are seen as a number or a feeder into a dynamic that is so big, there is no way that you can matter, and you’re in trouble. And that’s what government has become,” she said.

Check out photos from the event in our multimedia section.

Related posts:

1. Intellectual Conservatism on Campus: Has Campus Conservatism Lost its Way?
2. Two Ships Passing in the Night: A Call for Compassionate Conservatism
3. Race, Conservatism, and the GOP: An Interview with Joseph C. Phillips

With everything that’s happening in Washington, I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to talk about the importance of conservative ideas. I’m really looking forward to this.

We couldn’t agree more.

Related posts:

1. 'shOUT Speaker First of Two on Gay Rights
2. Talk Show Hosts Says Conservatism Advances Minorities
3. A True Foundation: On Christianity, Equality, and Tammy Bruce

Mr. Hoadley spent a significant portion of his lecture focusing on he believed conservative ideology wasn’t the best solution for Americans. As Greg Slisz explains in his article:

While explaining the close relationship between partisanship and ideology, Hoadley promoted a liberal ideology as the philosophy of an ever-evolving America. He presented a stark contrast, as he stated that conservative ideology was “based on myth,” whereas liberal ideology was “based on contracts between humans and human behavior.

“Idealized policies are not always in the best interest of what humans do, and how we as a social creature behave.”

He even cited a specific example of previous conservative sex education that consisted only of abstinence. That, he said, led to increases in STDs and teenage pregnancy. “We had this goal of what we wanted to achieve in our policy [of sex education], but it wasn’t made for people’s behavior,” said Hoadley. “And a lot of teenagers, well, they apparently had a lot of behavior.”

Hoadley emphasized that the liberal framework was necessary because it was the only one that would work to solve social problems and improve people’s lives, especially in terms of civil rights.

Mr. Hoadley’s view of the world will not go long without a rebuttal, however, as Tammy Bruce will be on campus tomorrow evening to explain how conservative beliefs are actually empowering to minorities of all stripes. Talk about a difference of opinion! I have no doubt that these lectures will spark a considerable amount of discussion on campus.

As for Mr. Hoadley, I’ll let one of WCU’s own take it away:

In the spirit of open discussion, several members of the Wabash Conservative Union attended Hoadley’s speech.

Junior Adam Brasich, a member of the [Wabash] Conservative Union, found Hoadley’s talk informative, even if he didn’t agree with all of it. “I was very impressed with his talk. He was obviously a Democrat and he was partisan, but he didn’t spend all this time bashing Republicans talking about how we’re bigots or things like that,” Brasich said. “He talked a lot about philosophy and how he thought his philosophy was the best option. I still disagree with him, but I respect his position more.”

Don’t forget: Tammy Bruce tomorrow night at 8 p.m. in Baxter Hall 101.

Related posts:

1. Talk Show Hosts Says Conservatism Advances Minorities
2. TammyBruce.com: I'll Be Speaking at Wabash College Wednesday Night
3. Speaker Addresses Perceived "Judicial Activism"

The lecture was especially timely because, as the story’s author notes, “from the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979 to President George Bush’s famous ‘Axis of evil’ declaration in 2002, Iran has consistently been at the forefront of American foreign policy.”

In his talk, Beigi argued the current regime in Iran is caught in a vacuum – no longer adhering to the traditional political structure yet not embracing western philosophy. That vaccum allows for Fundamentalism to develop.

The problem of the fundamentalist regime of Iran is only exacerbated by the potential for nuclear weapons. That is, according to Mr. Beigi, one of the most terrifying prospects for the world.

“The threat from Iran is very serious,” he said. “If they get the bomb, they will use it.”

Beigi said the only way to overcome the void filling fundamentalism rogue state, a breeding ground for terrorists, is through democratization of Iran. He believes the American ideals of freedom and democracy would resonate with the people of Iran.

Full story: http://www.wabash.edu/alumni/news.cfm?news_ID=512

Related posts:

1. America’s Seven Deadly Sins: Loch Johnson’s Critique of American Foreign Policy
2. Iran, Islam and U.S. Foreign Policy: An Exclusive Interview with WCU Lecturer Kamran Beigi
3. Phillips Addresses Racial Perceptions, American Idealism