Volume 21, No. 2: Summer 2026
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In this issue:
Departments
The Summer 2026 Issue of The Objective Standard Is Released!
Welcome to the Summer 2026 issue of The Objective Standard, the rational alternative to conservatism and regressivism.
Cover Article
America the Rational
America is beautiful. But why? What makes it beautiful? And what could make it even more beautiful?
Freedom 250
Proclaiming Liberty: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence by Timothy Sandefur (Review)
As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, Timothy Sandefur’s Proclaiming Liberty arrives at a moment when the Declaration of Independence is under assault from all directions.
Understanding the Declaration of Independence
By “created equal,” the Declaration of Indepedence does not mean that people are equal in terms of talents, skills, or character, or that they should be made equal through the redistribution of wealth or by compelling some to labor for others. It just means that nobody is entitled to dictate how others may live.
Ten Poems on America the Beautiful
Featuring works by Lord Byron, Thomas Paine, Emma Lazarus, Walt Whitman, Henry Van Dyke, Minna Irving, Charles Eugene Banks, Jonathan Mitchell Sewall, and Katharine Lee Bates.
Science & History
Artemis II Takes the Small Step, But Who Will Make the Giant Leap?
The flight of Artemis II shines a spotlight on a critical question: Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon? And now that we’re going back, will we stay this time? Answering these questions reveals serious problems with the Artemis Program and how successful this attempt at lunar colonization is likely to be.
Samuel Morse: The Father of Long-Distance Communication
Samuel Morse spent twelve years turning a sketch into a working telegraph line while battling poverty, failed patents, and a Congress that could not tell electromagnetism from pseudoscience. He was not a scientist. He was an inventor who saw that electricity could carry ideas.
The Arts
“Hold Back the Night”: The Protomen’s Musical Warning to Stand Up for Freedom
The Protomen's three main albums are as much works of fiction as works of music. Together they form a grand dystopian story that serves as a warning to stand up for freedom and human life before it’s too late.
No “Little Feat”—Lowell George’s Musical Innovation
The musical landscape of the 1970s was filled with artistic rule breakers, and singer-songwriter Lowell George was certainly one of them. His dynamic approach, a sort of controlled chaos, produced melodies and musical works that are still being performed and covered today.
Injustice against Michael Jackson Continues in Critical Backlash to Michael (2026)
The new film Michael, far from being the “overly sanitized” presentation of Jackson’s life critics have called it, fulfills its goal of honoring his legacy without distortion.
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly (Review)
If you think of Jane Austen novels as light, fluffy romances—think again.
Mother Courage: “Epic Theater” vs the Human Soul
Mother Courage and Her Children is widely regarded as a brilliant, clinical dissection of wartime economies and as the pinnacle of epic theater. Yet its precise theme masks a profound dramatic failure.
Dracula: A Love Tale (2025): A Sincere but Fatally Flawed Love Story
Dracula: A Love Tale (2025) engages deeply and sincerely with fundamental human values, and it respects its audience rather than lecturing them. It deserves meaningful praise on these grounds, but its reach ultimately exceeds its grasp because it tries to tell a love story without understanding what love is.
Purpose and Friendship in The Persuaders!
Like most classic spy shows, The Persuaders! is a fun opportunity to enjoy action, glamor, and intrigue—but unlike many, it has at its core a valuable message about why the pursuit of a life-serving purpose, not merely of pleasure, gives a man’s life meaning.
Philosophy & Good Living
A Self-Authored Victory: How Stepping Away Made Alysa Liu an Olympic Champion
She had everything she needed to become an Olympic champion. But first, she needed to quit.
I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux (Review)
Without a capable guide, unpacking Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas to understand and get value from them—without falling prey to the same errors he did or to the many popular mischaracterizations of his ideas—is challenging. Sue Prideaux offers that guide in her book "I Am Dynamite!"