Robert B. Charles

Faith & Public Life

What We Can Learn From The Inklings' Lost Art of Conversation

In 1933, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien joined a club that met at an Oxford pub to argue over religion and politics without anger, judgment, or a single word of offense.

Sep 30, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Joshua Chamberlain: The Faith Behind a Civil War Hero

Trained for the seminary, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge at Little Round Top on July 3, 1863, holding the Union line after his men ran out of ammunition.

Sep 29, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Integrity and Freedom: Why Character Still Defines True Leadership

Eisenhower called integrity the supreme quality for leadership, and Camus and Emerson agreed the standard comes from within, judged by conscience alone rather than any rulebook.

Sep 28, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Longfellow’s “A Day of Sunshine”: Finding Joy in Every Season

In 1872, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow answered autumn's gloom with "A Day of Sunshine," a poem that finds a blessing in every season, from cherry blooms to winter drifts.

Sep 25, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Why Wonder Still Matters in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

As the world outsources thinking to AI, Socrates offered a warning worth remembering: "Wonder is the beginning of wisdom," and a mind that stops wondering goes dead.

Sep 24, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Alvin Toffler’s Warning – Do Not Trade Judgement for AI

Toffler predicted work-from-home and attacks on religion and the nation-state, and warned that schools pushing AI would shut off our ability to think.

Sep 23, 2026

Politics

Restoring Normal: Fighting High Taxes and Soaring Electricity Bills

Maine's electricity bills jumped 36 percent in one year, the highest in the nation, as the state budget doubled in eight years and taxpayers, retirees, and businesses leave.

Sep 22, 2026

Travel & Lifestyle

About Resilience

Discover the meaning of resilience through Theodore Roosevelt's wisdom - learning to rise, persevere, and prevail after life's inevitable falls.

Sep 21, 2026

Faith & Public Life

The Joys of Fall: Robert Frost and the Beauty of Autumn

Robert Frost's little-read 1913 poem "October" asked the wind to slow the day and release the leaves one at a time, finding whimsy where others saw only summer ending.

Sep 18, 2026

Faith & Public Life

Why Reading Books Still Matters More Than Ever

Before scrolling filled every quiet hour, books by Kenneth Roberts, Heinlein, and Herriot opened whole worlds, and here is why grandchildren still need those pages.

Sep 17, 2026

What History's Bravest Leaders Teach Us About Facing Fear Today

Churchill, who wrote 43 books and failed at money, politics, and battle, held that courage is the one virtue on which every other virtue depends.

Sep 16, 2026

Politics

The Growing Divide Between Democrats and Democratic Socialists

A new brand of radical politics pushes one-party rule at every level of government, calling it normal when history shows the opposite, and free speech is the first casualty.

Sep 15, 2026