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The Best Articles I Read in 2020
Here at the end of 2020, I’m trying to close up a number of tabs I have open on my browser. Many of them are articles, and of that number I’m certain several were suggested or linked to by fellow Ricochet members, mentioned in podcasts, or discovered through searches prompted by Ricochet discussions. I was originally going to say “The 10 Best Articles…”, but the list is more than ten articles and I’m sure I’m forgetting some additional ones that I read months ago…it’s been a long year.
For this post I loosely define “the best” articles as those that challenged my thinking on an issue, were educational, were unexpected or deservedly scandalous, courageously broke with prevailing current narratives, or discussed an important topic otherwise ignored or forgotten. I’m not going to say which characteristic applies to which article as I’m trying to keep this post relatively brief, and each article could form the foundation of a post and become fertile ground for discussion. Some of the articles were written in years prior to 2020, but I just got around to reading them this year and they were either prophetic or remain pertinent to current events. Grouped with some of the articles I have read, I’m also listing what I’m going to read next in regard to that topic. These will have “to be read” in parentheses next to them.
What nonfiction essays, speeches, or articles did you read that affected you intellectually, emotionally, or ideologically? Or did something you read even call you to action, take a stand, or change your behavior? Link to it and discuss it in the comments, i.e. encourage me to open new tabs faster than I can read and close old ones. Or if you’ve read some of the same articles I have, or decided on the spot to read any of the articles I listed, impressions and critiques are always welcome.
The Influence of Antonio Gramsci on American Society:
The Rise of Political Correctness: from Marx to Gramsci to Trump
By Angelo M. Codevilla – Claremont Review Of Books – Fall 2016
(to be read) Cultural Marxism’s Origins: How the Disciples of an Obscure Italian Linguist Subverted America
By Sam Jacobs – Ammo.com – undated
George Floyd: His massive drug overdose and the Minneapolis police officers who tried to save his life
Who Killed George Floyd?
By George Parry – The American Spectator – August 6, 2020
Chauvin, Lane, Kueng, and Thao: The George Floyd Fall Guys
By George Parry – The American Spectator – August 12, 2020
The Societal Effects of Absent f/Fathers
The Fury of the Fatherless
By Mary Eberstadt – First Things – December 2020
(to be read – mentioned in the above article) The Combahee River Collective Statement
By the Combahee River Collective – 1977 (possibly the founding document of identity politics)
Histories, Structures, and Funding Sources of Antifa and BLM
A Brief History of Antifa: Part I
A Brief History of Antifa: Part II – Antifa in the United States
By Soeren Kern – The Gatestone Institute – June 12, 2020 and June 23, 2020
Black Lives Matter: “We Are Trained Marxists” – Part I
Black Lives Matter: “We Will Burn Down This System” – Part II
By Soeren Kern – The Gatestone Institute – July 2, 2020 and August 2, 2020
Hezbollah: International Terrorism, Drug Trafficking, and Money Laundering
Hezbollah is in Venezuela to Stay
By Colin P. Clarke – Foreign Policy – February 9, 2019
The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook
By Josh Meyer – POLITICO – 2017 (took me a while to finally read this one)
Chinese Intelligence Operations in the US a.k.a. Eric Swalwell and the Spy who Shagged Him
Exclusive: Suspected Chinese Spy targeted California politicians
By Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Zach Dorfman – Axios – December 8, 2020
Them Before Us: Children’s Rights and Needs before the Desires of Adults
Sacrificing the Wellbeing of Children: New York’s Legalization of Commercial Surrogacy
By Katy Faust – United Families International – April 9, 2020
The President in Planned Parenthood’s Pocket
By Alexandra DeSanctis – National Review – December 16, 2020
American History, the Constitution, and the 1619 Project
The Anti-Slavery Constitution
By Timothy Sandefur – National Review – September 12, 2019
(to be read) America Wasn’t Founded On White Supremacy
By Lucas Morel – The American Mind – October 17, 2019
And finally an article I’ve read multiple times…
How Politics Becomes Religion
By Samuel Gregg – The Catholic World Report – July 15, 2018
Thanks. Some articles I bookmarked recently:
The Federalist: What Big Tech Didn’t Want You to See on The Federalist in 2020
Krebs On Security: U.S. Treasury, Commerce Depts. Hacked Through SolarWinds Compromise
Quillette: Reflections on Solzhenitsyn’s Harvard Address
The Spectator: Reasons why the 2020 presidential election is deeply puzzling
I couldn’t even remember. I did read the Sandfeur article re: Constitution and slavery. Some of the titles posted here sound interesting so I’ll try and get to them. I’ll share what I can remember as being really good.
Commentary: The Railroading of Michael Flynn (Eli Lake)
Tablet: Hydroxychloroquine: A Morality Tale (Norman Doidge)
Church Life Journal: All Human Conflict is Ultimately Theological (Adrian Vermeule)
Thank you as well. Each looks interesting, but in particular, learning more about the Solar Winds incident will be helpful as I’ve only heard a little about it on an episode of the Powerline podcast.
The Anti-Slavery Constitution article made me want to delve into pre Civil War 19th century American history. It’s definitely a period I haven’t studied much since high school.
I remember hearing about Eli Lake’s article on Michael Flynn but missed reading it. I’m not familiar with Church Life Journal and look forward to checking it out. Thanks!
Pete Buttigieg’s late father was an atheist-Marxist Gramsci scholar at Notre Dame.
Hopefully Transportation Secretary is the limit to the power he attains.