The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) Participant Writes Article on Visiting the Kirk Center for National Review
We hope you enjoy this essay from recent seminar participant, Bobby Miller:
Kirk’s life was consumed with the recuperation and preservation of what he called ‘permanent things.’ As he put it:
‘There are certain permanent things in society: the health of the family, inherited political institutions that ensure a measure of order and justice and freedom, a life of diversity and independence, a life marked by widespread possession of private property. These permanent things guarantee against arbitrary interference by the state.’
Kirk’s great insight was his identification of these foundational covenants. To be conservative is to champion their cause and to attempt to secure their longevity.
On this three-day trip, I enjoyed the company of other sympathetic young political aspirants — enterprising junior Hill staffers, prospective pundits, and wannabe policy wonks. We work in various positions in and around the nation’s capital, united, on paper, only by our belonging to the political Right. We all began our journey with different priors, perspectives, expectations, and objectives.
More From Our Highlights & News
Interns from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy gathered at the Kirk Center
Interns from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy gathered at the Kirk Center on July 8, 2022, for a day-long seminar on “Dimensions of Contemporary Conservatism.” Faculty speakers included Dr. Glenn Moots from Northwood University and Dr. Sarah Estelle from Hope...
Dr. Luke C. Sheahan appointed the fifth editor of The University Bookman
On November 7, 2021, the Russell Kirk Center’s flagship publication, The University Bookman, lost its longtime editor, Gerald J. Russello, to cancer. Gerald was just 50 yet had been a fixture in our world, with such a breadth of humanistic learning and a deep...
What Do Students Say about the Center?
April was a busy month of programming at the Kirk Center. Of the four educational programs we held, two were four-day seminars for graduate and undergraduate students, while the other two were shorter programs for students from Calvin University and from St. Michael’s...
Kirk Center’s Founding Chairman, State Senator Joanne Emmons, Passes Away. She Led the Center for 27 Years.
On March 31, 2022, The Russell Kirk Center lost its founding chairman, Joanne Emmons. Joanne died peacefully at age 88 in her hometown of Big Rapids, Michigan. Since its inception in 1995, the Russell Kirk Center was blessed to have State Senator Joanne Emmons serving...