Nathan

PhD Student in Philosophy of Religion at SEBTS. Interested in the Arts, Stories, Culture, Philosophy, Theology, and Food.

[Dutch Rojas @DutchRojas]

I am a conservative. And I have now watched five episodes of The West Wing. Each one made me smile.

The show is unapologetically liberal. Yet it feels less foreign to me than much of modern politics.

I think I know why.

The West Wing presents a country that still believed its institutions were worth fighting over. Its characters disagree intensely, but they share a few assumptions:

America is fundamentally good.
Public service can be honorable.
Competence matters.
Patriotism belongs to everyone.

The opposing party can be wrong without being evil and the presidency is larger than the person occupying it. That world now feels almost innocent.

The show premiered when I was two years out of school, in 1999, before 9/11, the Iraq War, the financial crisis, social media, and the industrialization of political outrage.

Politics was bitter then. Clinton had just been impeached and yet the entire culture had not yet been reorganized around making every American angry every waking hour.

Bartlet’s Democrats are liberal, but they speak a moral and cultural language many conservatives now miss.

They openly love America.
They respect religion.

They take duty and personal responsibility seriously and expect government to be competent and never apologize for wanting America to be strong.

Bartlet is a Catholic New Deal liberal with an economist’s brain and an old-fashioned understanding of duty.

Sorkin’s Washington is obviously romanticized. It is filled with brilliant, earnest people walking quickly through beautiful buildings because they believe tomorrow’s policy meeting might improve the country.

And that is precisely what feels so moving.
There was innocence in it.

In these five episodes I have watched a fictional America in which grown-ups still run the government, political opponents remain fellow citizens, and everyone believes the country can become better.

We may never have fully lived in that America, but in 1999, we could still imagine it without feeling naïve.

[Nathan @montynem]

@mattmillsap @AndrewTWalker

[Nathan @montynem]

@theRTMullins I find this line of attack against Craig so tiring. It demonstrates they have never actually engaged with Craig's work in any meaningful manner. By all means disagree with him, but critique the view and stop with the silly ad hominem attacks that he isn't a theologian.

[Robert P. George @McCormickProf]

As president of Vanderbilt University, Daniel Diermeier has become a powerful voice of reform in higher education. This week he and the chairman of Vanderbilt's board published this highly commendable statement of first principles. Although the document's plea for institutional neutrality won't align with the mission of religiously affiliated schools, it is appropriate and indeed highly desirable for public universities and non-religiously affiliated private institutions like Vanderbilt and Princeton.

https://t.co/tUJHtyeLTW

[Nathan @montynem]

He just listed 3 of my all time favorite movies of his. These would be three I'd recias well. I can't wait to watch them with my son one day.

[Stu Smith @thestustustudio]

Without a doubt, the most wholesome thing I’ve seen all month is @russellcrowe answering which of his films young men should watch.

It is such an earnest, thoughtful answer, framed around timeless virtues like honor, loyalty, family, and perseverance.

[Nathan @montynem]

This was the only correct option.

[Variety @Variety]

Jeff Hays, the narrator and producer behind all eight “Dungeon Crawler Carl” books, has been cast as the voice of Princess Donut in Seth MacFarlane’s upcoming live-action series at Peacock.

https://t.co/gIR8F7GTIY

[Nathan @montynem]

This is well stated.

[Department of State @StateDept]

SECRETARY RUBIO: "This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred, above all else, for civilization itself."

[Nathan @montynem]

@BMcGrewvy

[Justin Bass @DrJustinbass]

Beautiful

[Nathan @montynem]

Let's go #usmnt We believe! #Worldcup2026

[FOX Sports @FOXSports]

BELIEVE. 🇺🇸

[Nathan @montynem]

@BMcGrewvy I think Fagles is best for clear understanding of the story of text (faithfully rendering meaning, if not the poetry) , but I really enjoy Lattimore for its attempt at capturing the form of the poem. Definitely can't go wrong with Fitzgerald.

[Nathan @montynem]

As someone who has taught middle school, this really cracked me up.

[Brent Epling @brentepling]

#FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup #USMNT #FreeBalogun

[FOX Sports @FOXSports]

BREAKING: FIFA has cleared the way for U.S. star Folarin Balogun to play in the USA's round of 16 match vs Belgium on Monday, confirmed by FOX Sports' @ByDougMcIntyre and @MelissaMOrtiz

https://t.co/eAJEpu9L5l

[G. K. Chesterton @GKCdaily]

America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature.

[Nathan @montynem]

Happy 250th Independence Day, America! God Bless the United States of America! 🇺🇸

[Nathan @montynem]

We were first built by colonists seeking liberty and self-government, and we have been continually renewed by generations of immigrants drawn to the promise of freedom and opportunity.

[Nathan @montynem]

I remain grateful to call this country home, and I pray we never lose the principles that made it exceptional. I pray for the continued prosperity of America for my son and for countless future generations for the next 250 years.