I like the Clay Christensen piece a lot. Short and sweet explanation of why religion is important. Thanks for forwarding that.
I'm working on a little project to translate into plainer English another English translation of Bastiat's The Law.
What I love about The Law is it gets down to core principles. He walks you through our God-given gifts that precede government and... Why do we need police? On what authority? And what are the different kinds of "legal plunders" (pirates) in our society?
It's fantastic stuff. And I hope that by working that a bit and translating the translator's work into something more readable, it might be something worthy to discuss at dinner time with youngsters.
In my old age of 64, I no longer worry about quoting someone like Emerson exactly. If there's a better word that is clearer to people who live today, I sometimes substitute that to make the reading more accessible.
If you're interested, here's the work in progress with my changes in red (in MS Word format).
PP,read only your beginning paragraphs, however, it is written in such a way that persons not adequate in ‘law speech’ will understand. Basic English seems to go out the window when attorneys explain their opinions and deductions. Will return to the assignment :-) in the next few days (more fully awake and able to absorb your words). We mature citizens do need our sleep and tomorrow morning will be coming too soon.
P.S. 64 is not old. It is the new ‘40’. Age is all in your frame of mind. DJT is 70. You’re a spring chicken! Whatever the age, it certainly beats the alternative.
The feathers of the pillow are calling to rest my head.