The Trinity Forum Update

“Once—it is a thought which troubles us—once it was a simple enough matter to be a human being, but now it is deeply difficult; because life was once simple, but is now complex, confused, multifarious.” —Woodrow Wilson, 1897

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In this Trinity Forum Update we cover the new Trinity Forum Reading by Woodrow Wilson, news on our recent City Convener's meeting in Washington, DC, and the latest from our Provocations journal, including Ted Malloch on debt and Bill Edgar on the upcoming elections.  

New Reading: On Being Human

The summer-fall 2008 Trinity Forum Reading is “On Being Human” by Woodrow Wilson with a foreword by Senior Fellow David Aikman. The future President sets out his vision for the good life in this personal essay, which also offers insight into his later policies and illustrates how a leader’s assumptions can change a nation—and the world. Aikman's foreword sets the reading in the context of Wilson’s life and accomplishments. A group discussion guide (included) helps the reader consider the implications and assumptions of the essay and the appeal of its vision more than a century later.

People on our Readings mailing list should be receiving their copies in the next couple of weeks. Read more here or order here

City Conveners Gather in DC

On September 15, more than 50 people from 19 cities joined several Trustees, Senior Fellows, and Advisory Board members from the U.S. and Europe for a day considering opportunities and strategies for sustained local activities using Trinity Forum resources, and Fellows. The featured presenters were Trustee Chris Evans of Raleigh, Trinity Forum Academy alumnus Jonathan O'Connor of Orlando, and Senior Fellow Fred Harburg and Susie Harburg of Boston. Cherie Harder and the Trinity Forum staff also released the first edition of our new Convener Handbook. The day ended with a real sense of excitement. See this news item for additional details. If you would like to learn more or are interested in hosting a Trinity Forum group in your city, please contact Beth Chapman at .

Recently on our Provocations Journal

We welcome your responses on these and other Provocations pieces.

• Forgive Us Our Debts: Toward a Proper Understanding of Debt. Dr. Ted Malloch looks at debt at levels from the personal to the global. Debt has its place, but we now have a global culture of debt with no consideration for thrift. (1218 words)
• How to Vote for the President: Character, discernment, trust. Senior Fellow William Edgar looks at the factors we should consider in the upcoming U.S. elections—or any election, for that matter. (1389 words)

Joe Loconte’s blog posts and columns [all]:

• Conservatism and Individualism (488 words)
• Redefining Democracy, Ethics, and Evangelicalism (624 words)
• A European Challenge to Anti-Americanism (635 words)
• The X-Files and the Enlightenment Myth (658 words)

And from David Aikman’s column [all]:

• Electoral Politics: The Possibility of a ‘Perfect Storm’ (1071 words)
• The Greatness of Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008): A Second Look (2104 words)
• Putin’s Brezhnev Doctrine (1154 words)

Academy Conversations

The fall Conversations newsletter has just been sent out from the Trinity Forum Academy featuring profiles of the new 2009 class. Click here to read it.

Upcoming

Next time we'll have information on the year-end Reading, new discussion guides for a few earlier Readings titles, and a set of new products we think you'll enjoy.

Support the Trinity Forum

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If you are interested in hosting a Trinity Forum event in your city, please contact our staff in Washington or London.