Why the Liberal Arts, Why Monticello, and Why the Outdoors?

Contributing author Joelle Mancuso of Simi Valley, CA    9/2/10 Imagine a liberal arts education as you would a physical training program. The program you use, the tools that are engaged and the environment you utilize will determine if you become fit or remain idle. A college that is dedicated to greatness, a curriculum that engages […]

Why Hebrew?, Part Two: Hebrew Compliments Greek

Read Part One Here Must an education be limited to completing a checklist of courses in order to receive a certificate of conformance to present as evidence to a prospective employer of having met a minimum standard of proficiency in practical, productive job skills? Is an education limited to passing through a “liberal arts” program […]

Why Hebrew?: Part One

Contributing Author – James Malmstrom, Monticello College Faculty CHOMRONG VILLAGE, Nepal – 2011 – I was sitting in the courtyard of Chomrong Cottage, a charming lodge and the second stop of a 10-day trek into the Annapurna mountain range. The towering snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the distance guarded the gateway to our final destination, a valley at the […]

Montesquieu: Luminary of the Enlightenment

 (Please excuse any errors.  I am writing on the fly from New York and time is limited). Cicero said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” To paraphrase, he who only knows his own generation is an unwitting slave to those who have a knowledge of the past and an eye on the […]

What Sort Of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear

The debate of the Federalists and the Anti-federalists is not our debate.  Their argument was centered on how to create a system that maintained the strength of sovereign states and create a strong, independent general government.  We now have the opposite, weak quasi-sovereign states with a run away all-powerful federal government. The central government debated […]

The Courage of Washington

George Washington was not a great president.  He was an average farmer and a loyal but solitary if dispassionate husband and neighbor. When it came to people and relationships, public speaking, pressing the flesh, and gushing, Mr. Washington had a lot of room for improvement. It’s a good thing Washington’s mission was none of those […]