From a very clear-eyed observer...

...named Jacques Maritain (d. 1973), come these two comments: 

"I don't see America as a mainland, but as a sea, a big ocean. Sometimes a storm arises, a formidable current develops, and it seems it will engulf everything. Wait a moment, another current will appear and bring the first one to naught."

"The great and admirable strength of America consists in this, that America is truly the American people."

Maritain, a Frenchman, wrote a short testimonial to this country as he found it in the 1940's, called Reflections on America.  To some in the current moment, these words are a warning; to others, they are strength and consolation.  Be patient.  "Stay thirsty, my friends."

Extraordinary

Apparently, Open Source Audio has recently archived and published a January 1, 1939, wire recording of Peter Maurin reading one of his Easy Essays. An amazing, thrilling and inspirational bit of Catholic history.

A Presidents' Day Thought

Historian Richard Norton Smith: Great presidents not only speak to us--they speak for us.