Category: About the Blog
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
15 September 2012

Dear Friends,

After many years, the Bosque Boys is back on the air. The story of our extended hiatus is a bit underwhelming and probably not quite post worthy. Having said that, TBB is back. Most important to me, a precious archive has been restored. I am gratified to read over the body of work that this blog represents. At the risk of sounding immodest, I think we often got some things right. What to expect going forward? Most people say a viable blog must issue new material daily. A great blog more often than that. I often failed in producing a quality piece (or any piece) every day, but the amount of time I spent on the effort was tremendous. I am in a different place now in my career and my personal life. I have no intention of trying to blog daily or break into the world of political commentary. From time to time, I will offer a few succinct thoughts and observations. For any of you who might find this blog again: welcome back. It is good to be with you once again.

A Waco Farmer
Category: About the Blog
Posted by: an okie gardener
I am a Christian of the Reformed persuasion, married, middle-aged, three grown children, who gardens organically. I was raised on a farm in Missouri, have a Ph.D. in religion, and teach online classes part-time. I am white and am pastor of an Indian (Native American) congregation in Oklahoma. Politically I am Reformed, believe Revolutionary-era republicanism to be one of the most brilliant creations of the human mind, and resonate with agrarian populism. Presidents I admire: Washington, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Reagan. Theologians I admire: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr.

17/04: A Waco Farmer

Category: About the Blog
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
Some information about me:

My favorite living American (excluding family members) is Brian Lamb. My favorite historians (excluding friends and mentors) are Eric Foner, David Hackett Fischer, Robert Remini, Gordon Wood, Richard Norton Smith, Joseph Ellis and Victor Davis Hanson. My favorite historical period is Early National. My favorite eighteenth-century American is George Washington; in the c. 19: JQA, Jackson & Lincoln; c. 20: Teddy (TR), MLK, and RR. Other heroes: Tom Landry, John Wooden, Grant Teaff, Nolan Ryan, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.

I have always proudly self-identified as a conservative, but I am mindful that some of my conservative brethren look askance at many of my positions. In the coming split in modern conservatism, my pronounced bent toward libertarianism and evangelicalism may necessitate my estrangement from the movement (but the initiative won't come from me).

I am an American traditionalist and a Southern Baptist. I believe with all my heart in limited government, but my convictions are tempered with a nineteenth-century Whig sensibility. That is, I wonder if Henry Clay's "American System" and a little evangelical fervor might not be the recipe for national revival. I believe in the republican virtues of the Revolution: frugality, integrity, industry, patience, and subordination of self-interest to the public interest (although I often fail to live out those ideals).

I believe in tradition, in general, and the American tradition, in particular, which I contend celebrates synthesis and compromise as well as innovation, independent thought and principled stands. I think Alexis de Tocqueville had it right when he said (and I paraphrase) that the genius of American politics is the ability of the electorate to tack back and forth, adjusting and correcting.

I believe that history has the power to save our collective American soul.

PS: I do not actually own a farm (nor do I possess the requisite skill to maintain one). The sobriquet, A Waco Farmer, is derivative of John Dickinson’s “Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer” and a paean to the affinity of the Founders for agrarian republicanism.