Thomas Fleming
Thomas Fleming is president of the Fleming Foundation. He is the author of six books, including The Morality of Everyday Life and The Politics of Human Nature, as well as many articles and columns for newspapers, magazines,and learned journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Greek from the College of Charleston. He served as editor of Chronicles: a Magazine of American Culture from 1984 to 2015 and president of The Rockford Institute from 1997-2014. In a previous life he taught classics at several colleges and served as a school headmaster in South Carolina
Everything on this website is of prime interest. When I first discovered it, a few years after reading Nock and Richard Weaver for the first time, which vaguely set me in its direction, I was very excited by its contents and tried to interest other “conservatives” in it as well. I was rather surprised and a bit disheartened by the unenthusiastic and uninterested reactions of many, but not all. I think they thought it went a bit too far into the tall weeds. But I say the further the better.
The irony being the knife-to-jugular is what retains some readers, even if knife is occasionally directed at their own. Perhaps many of the readers here were primed by that magazine and so have thick necks.
Speaking of which, apparently not mentioning people is in style; that magazine’s website’s list of past contributors seems to have received a Soviet airbrush treatment. This betrays a basic dishonesty that only reinforces my decision to let my subscription expire.
Podcasts have never really been my thing, but despite my initial reluctance to open those posts I have come to enjoy the podcasts on this site. At the end of each one I find myself wishing it were twice as long.
Rex mentioned the responses to comments on this site and I agree with him completely. The posts and ensuing discussions are always enlightening. It is the first place I would think to ask questions about many subjects. This is a really unique and valuable website and very helpful to anyone interested in most of the things that matter in life.
Thank you!
I want to thank JJ for the metaphor. Where would you look for a lost baseball or piece of jewelry, after going over the clipped lawn, but in the tall grass, full of vermin and snakes and hidden treasures? Suburbanites may listen to Rush Limbaugh or watch CNN from the comfort of their chaise longue on a manicured lawn. There will be no surprises, because their lawn treatment has killed every living thing except the infinitely repeating grass, as predictable as one brick upon another. Danger may lurk in the weeds–latet anguis in herba–but also edible plants, medicinal herbs, and an entire world to study.,,
Thanks to to DD for the kind words. It is not at all ironic that I never listen to podcasts, hardly ever consult blogs, even good ones done by friends, and, when I was creating and editing a magazine, hardly ever read magazines. The voices of all of above generally strike me as coyotes yipping their frustrations in unison.
Would there be a way to make the podcasts easier to access? Streaming straight from the website means I have to be connected to the internet, but one of the ways I listen to podcasts is when I’m commuting and have no internet (I’m too cheap to have a smartphone data plan). So I have to wait until I’m doing something at the computer on my desk to listen to the podcasts.
I will say that I enjoy Rex’s style – the audio mix is fun and his personality is engaging. Just like a rare gem can be better appreciated in a nice setting, the wisdom of Dr. Fleming shines brighter when put side-by-side with Rex’s . . . er, wait. I better not finish this comment . . .