Civic Essays
What We Owe the Next Generation
There is a kind of conversation that has gone out of fashion in this country, and we are paying for its absence. It is the conversation older people used to [...]
The Havok Journal | Military & Veteran News, Commentary, Culture
- Citizenship Shouldn’t Need a Ouija Board July 9, 2026There’s a special little circus tent in American politics where adults in tailored jackets pretend that asking whether a voter is legally eligible to vote is somehow the first goose-step toward national ruin. You ask for citizenship verification, and suddenly half the room clutches its pearls so hard the oysters file a workplace complaint. Let’s […]Tammy Pondsmith
- When the Music That Saved You Comes Back to Life July 9, 2026Last Sunday night, I found myself amid a sea of forty-somethings standing shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the magic that was sure to come. The lights dimmed, and everyone began to scream. The moment we were all waiting for was at hand. The band took the stage, and from the opening bars of their iconic album […]Stan Lake
- What Ranger School Is… and Isn’t July 9, 2026Over the years I have listened, read, and engaged in great debates over what Ranger School is. It is the military’s premier leadership school, a small unit tactics school (advanced infantry school), a worthless waste of time, a smoke fest, and the list goes on. While I was in the military, I took a more […]Jake Smith
- So, I Guess “Lego Theft Ring” Is a Thing July 8, 2026Every now and then a news story comes along that reminds me I don’t understand the world nearly as well as I think I do. This week, that story was about a Texas man who received a 45-year prison sentence for his role in an organized retail theft operation centered around… LEGO sets. Not drugs. […]Charles Faint
- The Mind You Are Training July 8, 2026Every day, someone is trying to shape the way you think. News organizations compete for your attention. Social media algorithms learn what keeps you engaged. Advertisers spend billions trying to influence your decisions. Political movements seek your loyalty. Activists compete for your passion. Even your closest friends and family shape the way you interpret the […]Dave Chamberlin
