When it's done
Recently, I noticed the substack “The Upheaval” by N.S.Lyons stated, “Publication schedule is ‘when it’s done.”’
Since starting my Newsletter in the summer of 2022, I have had a new edition published almost every first Monday of the month. For most of that time, this was a pleasant rhythm; as a result, neither too many nor too few substacks appeared.
Occasionally, however, I wanted to publish something due to current events, but it had to wait. Conversely, it also happened that it was time to publish something, but it could have been more convenient.
The latter occurred, for example, last month because of an honorable invitation to give the 27th annual Center for Public Justice Kuyper lecture at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI, in early April. That made it necessary to interrupt my daily reading of the classics temporarily.
Hence, starting this month, I am adopting The Upheaval’s motto. There will undoubtedly continue to be sufficient new substacks. That, however, no longer happens at a fixed time but “when it’s done.”
That way, I expect to continue the great pleasure with which I provide this Newsletter, partly because of the still almost daily growing readership. It should also be better for the reading experience.
Therefore, I will limit myself to mentioning that on March 1 of this year, I gave a guest lecture at Leiden University College The Hague on “Constitutionalism and Rule of Law in the Netherlands: Contemporary Challenges.”
For those interested in its contents, I refer to my blog post “Dutch Democracy: A Sinking Ship?” That is an English translation of a contribution based on the lecture, which appeared the following day on the Flemish news site Doorbraak.
Also worth mentioning: last month, on the Routledge site, the first announcement of my forthcoming co-edited volume, Culture, Secularization, and Democracy: Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville, appeared. I might write more about that another time.
Finally, I am linking to the invitation to the Kuyper lecture, “In Search of the Radical Middle—Navigating Populism and Progressivism.” The Center for Public Justice “is the leading Christian nonpartisan think tank and civic education organization advancing principles and policies that support a pluralistic society.”
It was a very happy occasion, where I met old friends again and made new ones among the participants of three conferences. As Provost of Calvin University Noah Toly wrote on X:
“An embarrassment of scholarly riches this week. Calvin University hosted meetings of the Calvin Studies Society, the Kuyper Conference, and the Henry Symposium on Religion & Public Life.”
I hope to have just returned to the Netherlands when this Newsletter is distributed. Therefore, perhaps I might also write more about that event next time.
P.S. I discovered this post was a week late after I wrote the above. I must have already internalized the new state of affairs!