Junior
Hunter V. McClure
T
he time has flown by since I arrived in late July—it is hard to believe that I’ve been here for more than six months already. Although I cannot say I’ve developed any affinity for New York City, or urban life in general (I will always at heart be a Southerner first and an American second), I have deeply appreciated my time at FIRST THINGS and am eager to see the work that we still have
Fellows left to do. FIRST THINGS is at its best when it rises above the news cycle, calling readers to contemplate what remains true, good, and timelessly beautiful, avoiding that which appeals to our lowest, most fleeting drives. In an internet-addled age of outrage and paranoia, this is no easy task. As the new year begins, I look forward to maintaining the primacy of the speculative in our pages.
Elizabeth Bachmann
I
n my college years, I looked up to FIRST THINGS as a pantheon of perfection in tone, topic, and mission. It was the one publication I consistently read—even when my paper assignments began to pile up. Having now been a Junior Fellow for six months, I see beyond the magazine’s glossy cover to the small group of quiet, dedicated people who care intensely that FIRST THINGS continue to pursue truth in the public square through faith in the eternal God. Our founder, Richard John Neuhaus, said that the trick of religion and public life
“is making the right connection between the two.” To do what FIRST THINGS does—publish daily about politics, art, and current affairs while keeping religion center view—requires astute discernment and love of the true. This discernment and love, common to all the FIRST THINGS staff, writers, and especially the readers I have met at our New York events, both elevated and humbled the magazine in my mind. FIRST THINGS is not simply its external face: an outstanding magazine of religion and public life. It is the fruit of the continuous mental and spiritual
labor of its editors, straining doggedly to keep their eyes on the first things and to bring them before our readers’ eyes. My time at FIRST THINGS has filled me with gratitude for the people who care enough to work hard to produce something truly beautiful. Annual Report 2021
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