President's Day 2023
Book Notes: Reading in the Time of Coronavirus - Who Was George Washington?
By JES Scholar-in-Residence, Andrew Roth, Ph.D.
What could be controversial about George Washington? Well, you might be surprised. The recently issued 1776 Project Report [1] describes him as a peerless hero of American freedom while the San Francisco Board of Education just erased his name from school buildings because he was a slave owner and had, shall we say, a troubled relationship with native Americans...
Lincoln's Unifying Leadership and Relevance for Today
By JES Brock Institute Director, Rev. Charles Brock, M.Litt.
Drawing from his extensive research on U.S. presidents, Rev. Charles Brock focuses on President Abraham Lincoln's ability to unify Americans in a time of crisis and turmoil. Brock argues that we need another Lincoln today – badly. We need to reconcile our acute political differences. Noting that churches often cooperate now compared to when they certainly didn't before 1900, he asks if America could do the same in politics? For the future of the United States, he hopes we can.
Jefferson Analysis: George W. Bush Remarks on 9/11 and 1/6 Enlighten the National Conversation
By JES Brock Institute Director, Rev. Charles Brock, M.Litt.
Former President George W. Bush gave some major remarks on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Pennsylvania, where one of the attack planes was foiled by brave patriots and crashed to the ground rather than the intended U.S. Capitol building. Bush attempted to give comfort, but he also showed deep concern about how America has been breaking bad in the past few years.
The Future of the G.O.P.: Where will the Republicans Go from Here?
Michael L. Coulter, Ph.D. & Caleb Verbois, Ph.D.
February 2020
In the aftermath of the 2016 election Republicans controlled more federal and state office than at any point since the 1920s. Four years later, Trump was the first President since Herbert Hoover to lose the White House, the Senate, and the House in just one term. The party turned winning into losing in record time. The aftermath has left the Republicans with deep internal divisions and, combined with the fact that the Republicans have only one the presidential popular vote once in the last 38 years, substantial external challenges. How can the Republican Party keep and grow its coalition to potentially win back the White House in 2024? And how might these debates impact the party at the state and local level?
Book Notes: Reading in the Time of Coronavirus - Trump Meets Beowulf
By JES Scholar-in-Residence, Andrew Roth, Ph.D.
This is not a trick question: “What does Donald Trump share with Beowulf?” The answer is “more than you might think, but not enough,” none of which is particularly flattering to Der Trumpster.
THE BIDEN-PUTIN SUMMIT IN GENEVA: CREATING A MORE STABLE AND PREDICTABLE RELATIONSHIP?
Lena Surzhko-Harned, Ph.D.
June 2021
In the last few years, the relationship between the US and Russia have hit the lowest point since the end of the Cold War. While other US presidents attempted to "reset" these relations or find ways to "get along with Russia," the Biden administration seeks to reach 'predictable strategic stability'. Did the Geneva Summit yield the desired results? What is the future of the Russia-US relations?
Examining the Biden Inauguration Address: What He Said and What It Means for the American Story
JES Scholar-in-Residence, Andrew Roth, Ph.D. and JES Brock Institute Director, Rev. Charles Brock, M.Litt.
January 2021
What roles do presidential inaugural addresses play in how we – as in, We, The People – see America and how we tell the story of America? What does it mean to have a shift in the narrator-in-chief? Join JES Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Andrew Roth and Charles Brock, Director of the Brock Institute, who have been researching and writing about the American Dream and American Story for years, as they unpack Biden's speech and its impact in conversation with JES Vice President Ben Speggen.
Book Notes: Reading in the Time of Coronavirus - President Biden's Inaugural Address and What We Share
By JES Scholar-in-Residence, Andrew Roth, Ph.D.
Well, how did Joe do? I call him “Joe” because President Biden seems to be a down-to-earth guy to the extent anyone with sufficient ego to seek the presidency of the United States can be “down-to-earth". Regardless, he seems to understand it’s not all about him. He seems to understand it’s about us.
