Tea at Trianon: Why Your Vote Is More Important Than You Think

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Why Your Vote Is More Important Than You Think

From Tierney's Real News:

Some people tell me that they are not interested in discussing “politics.” They see it as a dirty, divisive distraction—something beneath them or separate from their faith.

They stay home on Election Day, convinced that God is sovereign so their vote doesn’t matter, or that both sides are equally bad. I understand the impulse. Politics can feel exhausting and corrupt, particularly in Minnesota where I come from. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: not voting is still a political decision. It shapes the world your children and grandchildren will inherit.
I decided to write this newsletter today because God put the post below in front of me. It inspired me to write about it…The truth is, every person makes political decisions every minute of every day that decide their future.

Every family is a political unit. Every business is a political unit. Every group is a political unit. Every church is a political unit. Every county, city and state is a political unit. Every country is a political unit.

Politics is simply how people in groups—families, churches, schools, businesses, cities, and nations—make decisions about how we live together. Every law, every school curriculum, every cultural norm reflects someone’s values winning out. If Christians disengage, others will gladly fill the vacuum. (Read more.)