The Saturday Evening Post September/October 2019

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When I was a kid, we seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time at school studying history — with an emphasis on American history. I remember in fourth grade struggling almost to the point of tears to put together a report on the 13 colonies that had to include population, agriculture, commerce, and various and sundry other details for each one. But, in the end, I knew my colonies. Over the years, we returned to American history time and time again — the Constitution, the three branches of government, the westward migration, industrialization, and, of course, the wars. Today, thanks to our zeal for STEM-centered instruction, history is getting nudged out of the school curriculum, write Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP, and Mitchell Reiss, president and CEO of the…

Robin Moline After graduating from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Moline began exploring a style reminiscent of Grant Wood — of American Gothic fame — and other Regionalist artists of the ’20s and then made it her signature style. Moline’s painting Harvest Bounty appears on this issue’s cover. “I was basically out to capture the feel of the farms I knew from my youth and early adulthood,” she says about the painting. “Farms and river valleys and quaint towns all continue to inspire me.” Chaney Kwak “I was surprised how gentle most honeybees are,” says Kwak, a self-described city slicker who became an amateur beekeeper — an experience he shares in “The Accidental Beekeeper” (page 42). “Without our honeybees and other pollinators, our ecosystem would collapse,” says the writer. “Bees are…

The Talented Mr. Wyeth Wonderful cover story on N.C. Wyeth (Jul/Aug) — the artist who inspired me to become an illustrator myself. I encourage folks to learn more about his life and devotion to nurturing creativity in his children. His original paintings (cover, right) are masterpieces of American art. Steven James Petruccio, online comment Not Always an Option “How to Retire” by Dan Freedman (Jul/Aug) offers excellent information and guidance for those of us lucky enough to have even the possibility of retirement. I don’t know anyone who’s planning to retire. The high cost of living is an ugly reality for members of the baby boom generation. Bob McGowan Jr., online comment Let’s Keep Cursive I still write letters by hand (“The Return of the Handwritten Letter,” American Pop, Jul/Aug). There is so much emotion in a…

Something is going badly wrong for American teenagers, as we can see in the statistics on depression, anxiety, and suicide. Something is going very wrong on many college campuses, as we can see in the rise in efforts to dis-invite or shout down visiting speakers, and in changing norms about speech, including a recent tendency to evaluate speech in terms of safety and danger. This new culture of “safetyism” is bad for students and bad for universities. Safety is good, of course, and keeping others safe from harm is virtuous, but virtues can become vices when carried to extremes. “Safetyism” refers to a culture or belief system in which safety has become a sacred value, which means that people become unwilling to make trade-offs demanded by other practical and moral concerns.…

Gucci, the luxury-goods maker, last year began selling a line of sneakers that come pre-smudged. That’s right, filthy from the get-go. For a pair of these, Gucci will gladly accept your $870. What’s that, you say? You’d like something a little more obnoxious? Okay, hand over $1,590 and Gooch will attach a strand of crystals to those scruffy shoes. Happy now? Conventional aesthetic standards barely apply in the hypercompetitive world of “kicks” — which is, ya know, the street parlance. Each week’s most lust-worthy new models invariably sell out in a flash. Some go on to become collectibles. The sneakersphere after-market is not unlike the liveliness observed in the fenced-jewelry game. Except that top sneakers often fetch way more cash. Fact: The American footwear market is on a tear, expected to reach an…