Michigan Smoking Ban

On the first of May, after years of lobbying by anti-smoking crusaders, most public workplaces in Michigan will be smoke-free.  A majority of Michigan legislators thought that now is the perfect time for the bill, passed 24-13 in the Senate and 75-30 in the House, because all more important matters of the state are settled, [...]

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Burke + Weems = BFF

Burke once said that the Queen of England should not be thought of “merely as a woman.”[1] He was implying that the leaders of nations should be considered to be more than just humans.  They should be revered and glamorized.  People should want to follow these leaders and devote themselves to their country.  This is [...]

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Professors Hobbes, Burke, and Rousseau

Now that the semester is coming to a close students are stressing out about what grades they are going to receive and many have started making excuses for why they did not get the grade they were aiming for. A majority of these excuses revolve around the professor; for example, “he/she grades too hard,” or, [...]

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Burke on Traditionalism

With the holiday season upon us, many are looking forward to heading home to spend time with their families.  Whether it is lighting another candle on the menorah or decorating the Christmas tree, we all follow many traditions in this holiday season, some that we may not even realize.  Similarly, there are many other traditions [...]

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Discourse on Russian Revolution

Edmund Burke did in fact support the American Revolution while he condemned the French Revolution, but what would his opinion be regarding the removal of Czar Nicholas II of Russia?  Would Burke have supported the removal of the Czar in 1917 that led to the establishing of the Soviet Union?  I believe Burke would have [...]

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Burke’s Thought on Vocational Education

Recently in one of my classes, we read an article about vocational education written by Mike Rose, a professor in the School of Education at UCLA, entitled “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Through many first hand experiences, Rose explains how vocational education institutions do not encourage their students to be ambitious. When reading this article, [...]

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Burke, Mill, and Tradition

            While Burke strongly advocates sticking with tradition and with what has worked for previous generations, Mill adopts a different approach.  In Mill’s opinion, a tradition is only legitimate if other ways of living have proved inferior.  Mill gives more trust to the ability of man to successfully reason, whereas Burke [...]

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Burke’s Necessary Drapery

Burkes stance on the necessity of “pleasing illusions” to a successful government is particularly interesting when examined. He explicitly states that it is crucial that the government be run from the inside, with very little transparency, by those worth to run it. He sees humanity as incapable of individual judgement; his lack of faith, to [...]

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