It's impossible to overstate the importance of trust for friendship. Likewise, it's impossible to overstate the importance of friendship for our personal lives and for the life of a healthy, self-governing republic.
Without friendships, our personal lives—no matter how prosperous otherwise—would be bleak. Of what lasting good are possessions and experiences if we have no one with whom to share them?
Without private, voluntary associations, our public life would be overwhelmed by the impersonal omnipresence of “the State.” Can you imagine if everything from Little League to religion was organized not by voluntary association but by the federal government?
Read Full Article »