Rise to the Moment of Truth Saturday, June 27, 2026
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Welcome to The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal! This new section of 1819 News is your place for commentary, advice, and musings on life and renewing the culture.

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About the Fred and Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal

The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal aims to do just what its name implies: renew the culture.

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Devin Foley: What is culture war?

A culture war is just as serious as a traditional war, even more so in many cases. There is no neutral in this fight, it’s a total war for the very soul of our nation.

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Annie Holmquist: The choice before us – chaos or Christianity

Religion – particularly Christianity – is at the core of society because it puts us in right relationship with God. And when we’re in right relationship with God, everything else falls into place, namely, our relationships with family, work, community, and government.

Latest in Culture

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Elijah Rex Newcomb: The American tendency to put 'why' before 'ought'

We would do well to remember the lesson learned by a Prussian aristocrat as he drilled the American army into existence. We've never been a people who accept “oughts” without a good “why.”

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Sarah Wilder: The ‘tradwives’ who don't talk the talk, but walk the walk

Instagram can’t be the reason you love or hate tradwives, because it doesn’t always give them a fair shake or present the full picture.

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Aletheia Hitz: 10 Chinese proverbs we should all take to heart

Proverbs are valuable because, though holding great truths, they don’t overwhelm the listener with words.

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Annie Holmquist: Usha Vance and the wisdom of frugal fashion

So next time we’re out shopping, let’s remember the quiet wisdom of Usha Vance. There’s no shame in choosing practical, budget-friendly fashion – particularly if that fashion presents us and the ideas we value most with class and grace.

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Annie Holmquist: America is sliding toward socialism – but here’s how we can stop it

The more we try to run from God, the more we head toward socialism and its eventual end, communism.

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Jeff Minick: Remaining an American in an anti-American America

When we take a do-it-yourself approach to our republic, when we make ourselves agents for the preservation of our God-given rights, even in small ways, we help keep alive that dream of the founders 250 years ago. 

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Walker Larson: The rudderless moment in American politics

While critique has its place, it only gets you so far. Conservatives must stop attacking and start building.

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Mike Schramm: Faith of our father-wounds

Two of today’s top shows – “Invincible” and “The Boys” – happen to be superhero-themed, derived from graphic novels, and produced by Amazon studios. They also are both uncomfortably centered around various daddy issues, as the following look at each demonstrates.

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Jeff Minick: Fatherhood is what you make it

Here’s to our own fathers, living or dead, good or bad, present and always loving or never ever to be seen. They were a part of the formula that created us. Because of them, we received the gift of life. 

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Aletheia Hitz: I grew up without a TV — Here's what I appreciated

At no point in my childhood was there a central screen consistently in my house. And quite honestly? I’m so thankful for that.

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Christian Leithart: Books are inconvenient – and that’s a good thing

There are some things in life that are valuable despite their inconvenience. Books are valuable (in part) because of their inconvenience.

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Collin Jones: What does the government know about UFOs?

Government secrecy is real, and sometimes it continues long after the point of justification. 

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Jeff Minick: 10 great movies for an American summer

Here are 10 motion picture time machines that can transport you and your family back into our country’s past. Bring along some popcorn, that fine old American food, and enjoy the ride.   

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Walker Larson: The modern dating crisis and the paradox of choice

Dating apps can work great, but at the same time, if that isn’t working for a particular young person, maybe they should take a page out of Grandpa and Grandma’s book and intentionally restrict themselves to a narrower field, namely, those they actually know in their neighborhood and community.

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Sarah Wilder: Stop writing your own wedding vows

Why recreate the wheel when timeless, eloquent, and meaningful marriage vows already exist?

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Elijah Rex Newcomb: What makes someone an American?

In our semiquincentennial year, it would be wise for us to reflect on and consider what makes us who we are. What are our unique virtues? What are the lessons we must learn from a past that no other nation on earth has shared?

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Mike Schramm: Is believing in God worth it?

One of the most misunderstood “arguments” for the existence of God is popularly known as Pascal’s Wager.

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Jeff Minick: Beauty, truth, goodness ... and Alzheimer's

Here was a woman who put her hand in the hand of God decades before she was afflicted with Alzheimer’s. That disease destroyed memory, reason, and finally consciousness, yet she never let go of God’s hand. 

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Walker Larson: What to do when good people disagree

The defensive reaction betrays selfishness. We want so badly to be understood and respected that we forget to understand and respect others first.

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Cooper Moore: Generation AI and the recovery of the human person

Artificial intelligence isn’t going away anytime soon. Power often feels like control, yet it rarely brings insight. Information floods every screen; still, clarity slips away. Simulations mimic reality, but they breathe none of its air. Remembering these gaps matters more than closing them fast.

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Annie Holmquist: Making morality great again

The number of Americans labeling birth control, having children out of wedlock, gambling, teenage sex, and cloning animals as morally acceptable behaviors dropped by a number of percentage points in just the last year.

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Jeff Minick: Singing the songs of the Civil War for America’s 250

Composers and publishing houses gave Americans on both sides of the conflict such a steady diet of songs and tunes that no other war in our country’s history produced so much music, some of which is still familiar to us today. 

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Sarah Wilder: Baby-murderers go mask-off before the entire internet

The abortion industry’s success hinges on society’s ignorance of the physical aspect of abortion. As such, pro-life supporters must realize that they are in a visual battle.  

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Collin Jones: War is a weather report

Often, the most important victories in any conflict are the ones made internally, the ones that never make the news.

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Annie Holmquist: Here’s what families should read for America250

Second Lady Usha Vance just announced her annual summer reading challenge for the nation's children in grades K–8. Here's a short list of what families can read in order to pursue this goal.

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Jeff Minick: Looking back makes it easier to look up with hope

Look back with gratitude, and it becomes much easier to look up with hope.

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Mike Schramm: 'Euphoria' wraps up with a Christian-infused bow on top

Is “Euphoria” a Christian show? I mean, I guess not, but this third season gave some of the most powerful Christian themes one can find – on a TV-MA-rated, premium cable network, of all places.

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