Rise to the Moment of Truth Monday, January 20, 2025

Posts by Allen Mendenhall

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Allen Mendenhall: The forecast that fizzled

Maybe, just maybe, the most precious snowflakes are the ones that never fall.

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Allen Mendenhall: Alabama needs the Classic Learning Test

Alabama stands poised to distinguish itself with the Classic Learning Test, or CLT, which offers a bold alternative to institutional stagnation.

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Allen Mendenhall: Onward, Dr. Jewell!

Alabama’s next governor must understand that a state’s universities shape more than classroom syllabi: they influence the intellectual atmosphere in which citizens breathe, businesses operate, and culture evolves.

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Allen Mendenhall: A New Year's agenda for Alabama's future

With the seasonal flight of jolly beneficence behind us, we turn from children’s wish lists for Santa to the more sober exercise of New Year’s resolutions.

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Allen Mendenhall: Horizons of wonder

While skeptical adults scan the heavens for drones, young children turn their gaze skyward with an altogether different expectation: the imminent arrival of a rotund, red-suited aeronautical marvel and his team of cervine navigators.

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Allen Mendenhall: Our Alabama economy is stuck in neutral

By addressing these key areas – reducing bureaucratic spending and strategically reforming tax policy – Alabama could transform its economic trajectory from middling to competitive.

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Allen Mendenhall: Three cheers for Ivy Classical Academy!

The new Ivy Classical Academy (ICA) in Prattville dares to remember that the true purpose of education transcends the merely utilitarian or instrumental.

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Allen Mendenhall: Doublecheck your privilege this Thanksgiving

The most subversive act in our current moment might well be a simple, unfashionable proposition: be grateful and then be helpful.

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Allen Mendenhall: Sweet home Ala-banking

When banks choose politics over prudence, everyone loses. 

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Allen Mendenhall: The case for classical civic learning in Alabama

Politicians are soon forgotten; ideas shape centuries. We should teach the timeless, not the trending. Why settle for mediocrity when greatness is within our reach? 

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Allen Mendenhall: What would Aristotle say about Alabama’s ‘anti-DEI’ legislation?

Aristotle reminds us that virtue is not bestowed by racial or ethnic taxonomies but cultivated through conscious, intentional action – timeless wisdom that transcends the narrow boundaries of contemporary identity politics. True character develops from individual choices.

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Allen Mendenhall: The corporate welfare trap

Economic development is not born of political favoritism but free and fair competition.

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Allen Mendenhall: Waning trust in higher ed

Higher education, which once enjoyed wide favor, is increasingly viewed skeptically.

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Allen Mendenhall: Can you say Semiquincentennial?

Did you know that 2026 is the Semiquincentennial? Say that 10 times fast! It’s a mouthful, isn’t it?   

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Allen Mendenhall: ‘Ban’ my book!

Moving books from one section of the library to another isn’t a ban. It’s a relocation. Nor is it “banning” to remove certain books from the library altogether.

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Allen Mendenhall: Don’t change the purpose of corporations
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Allen Mendenhall: ESG, banks and viewpoint diversity

ESG in financial services will sharpen political divides, taking the culture war to board rooms and then to all companies (because all companies depend on financial services).