Chronicles is by far the best political/cultural journal in America today and, unfortunately, the only consistent voice of traditional, rooted conservatism. Your unapologetic defense of Christianity and Western civilization offers some hope that both might enjoy a rebirth before it is too late.

I am a refugee from the “mainstream” conservative press. I had known about Chronicles for some time but did not subscribe until a couple of years ago. I wish I had done it much sooner. The quality of writing is excellent. The views expressed are well thought out, although I do not always agree with everything I read: I think national missile defense is a good idea, the Cold War was mostly worth fighting (despite its very real costs), and the South was not wholly blameless in the Civil War.

On most other points, I heartily agree with vou. Mass immigration is national suicide and harmful to immigrants as well. Free-trade agreements such as NAFTA are simultaneously destroying America’s industrial base and strengthening Leviathan. Over the past ten years, the foreign policy of the United States has been perverse. Our intervention in the Balkans was unjust and stupid, and our continued brutal embargo of Iraq is likewise immoral. In short, the Cold War is over and, as you have said, it is time for America to come home. The culture of the entire West is decadent, with rampant abortion and every sort of deviancy exalted. And the monstrous federal welfare/regulatory/police apparatus needs to be dismantled—not in order to benefit Wall Street manipulators and the Fortune 500 but to free American families to live independently.

You have even changed my mind about Abraham Lincoln, who I now consider a tyrant who dragged this country though an unnecessary and bloody war that went a long way toward destroying state sovereignty and creating the all-powerful government we now suffer under.

I am certainly not a wealthy subscriber, but I have some extra money, and I am happy to make a contribution to this indispensable journal. My only regret is that, ten years ago (when I was in college), I decided to go into a business career rather than pursue my true interests. If I had done what I should have done, I’d be writing essays for Chronicles instead of long, rambling letters to the editor.

        —Anthony J. Wawrzynski
Westlake, OH