“Russell Kirk didn’t treat the state like a spiritual HVAC system, there to regulate the temperature of the state’s soul. He wasn’t asking the executive branch to install virtue from the top down like ductwork—and he certainly didn’t think the governor should be the one holding the key to the morality thermostat.”
“If you read Kirk and came away thinking ‘ah yes, moral enforcement through state boards and executive appointees,’ then you didn’t read him. You skimmed him like a menu looking for something spicy—or like that Cheesecake Factory manager hunting for a reason to fire someone and redecorate.”
