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Things Worth Remembering

The Free Press presents great literary treasures—from William Shakespeare to David Foster Wallace and beyond—that we should commit to heart.

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Things Worth Remembering: The Freedom to Be Different
After Nazism destroyed his homeland, Simon Rawidowicz defiantly wrote: ‘Do not try to hide the Different inside you.’
Mijal Bitton
Things Worth Remembering: The Freedom to Be Different
After Nazism destroyed his homeland, Simon Rawidowicz defiantly wrote: ‘Do not try to hide the Different inside you.’
Mijal Bitton
Things Worth Remembering: When to Stop Being Nice
To understand the power of kindness in an age of media mobs and toxic empathy, listen to Patrick Swayze’s monologue in ‘Road House.’
Spencer Klavan
Things Worth Remembering: ‘Do Not Mourn Me Dead’
When I went to war, I wrote letters to my loved ones in case I never came home. Sullivan Ballou did too, and his words are a reminder of what Memorial…
Elliot Ackerman
Things Worth Remembering: ‘James’ Is a Masterpiece
This year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction went to Percival Everett’s novel, which deserves every award in literature.
Tiya Miles
Things Worth Remembering: Nora Ephron on Being a Mom
When debating with a 4-year-old about what color of plate is acceptable for his dinner, you may realize: Motherhood is absurd, and very funny.
Hadley Freeman
Things Worth Remembering: ‘Be What You Are’
This week, Joseph Massey reflects on the man who first wrote him: ‘Your life is about to change!’
Joseph Massey
Things Worth Remembering: Gaze Out the Nearest Window
I need to remind myself every day to stop, for a second, and look at the world I’m trying to build in. That’s why I love this poem.
Luke Burgis
Things Worth Remembering: One Easter Night in Europe
Yes, God is everywhere—no farther from us in a Walmart than He is in Vienna’s Stephansdom. But we are creatures of flesh, and a little grandeur helps us…
Rod Dreher
Things Worth Remembering: The Haunting Truth of Dostoyevsky’s Demons
Every movement that burns hot enough will attract opportunists, zealots, and destroyers. Even the most righteous cause can be hollowed out from within.
Benjamin Carlson
Things Worth Remembering: Kids These Days Need The Black Stallion
Children’s books should remind kids that there are rewards for persevering past pain and fear. This is the actual heart of adventure stories, and the…
Larissa Phillips
Things Worth Remembering: Abigail Shrier on When Harry Met Sally
‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.’
Abigail Shrier
Things Worth Remembering: America Is an Invention
For centuries, poets, musicians, and painters have crossed the Atlantic with dreams of a New World. George Berkeley was one of them. And so was I.
Dominic Green
Things Worth Remembering: Death Is a Friend
My ancestors, the ancient Celts, understood that mortality is not an enemy, but something to be embraced.
Sean Fischer
Things Worth Remembering: Money Can Ruin Your Life
I was born into poverty, and I believed wealth meant happiness. But F. Scott Fitzgerald taught me that prosperity can destroy you.
Rob Henderson
Things Worth Remembering: On Being Safe, Free, and Miserable
In ‘A Real Pain,’ which deserves an Oscar today, Jesse Eisenberg asks: How dare we be so overwhelmed by our own freedom when our ancestors were denied…
Hadley Freeman
Things Worth Remembering: When the Earth Shakes
Philosopher William James was thrilled by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and ‘the improvisation of order out of chaos’ that followed.
Jonathan Rosen
Things Worth Remembering: ‘A New World Order’
George H.W. Bush’s ‘Chicken Kiev’ speech was lambasted as cowardly. Looking back, it was a master class in diplomacy.
Peter Savodnik
Things Worth Remembering: ‘A Game Most Like Life’
As Vince Lombardi once said: ‘It is time to stand up for the doer, the achiever, the one who sets out to do something and does it.’
Charles Lane
Things Worth Remembering: ‘We Fell Morally Ill’
How does a new president restore faith in government? Václav Havel’s answer was to allow people to speak the truth.
Douglas Murray
Things Worth Remembering: The Zionism of Martin Luther King
As a shaky peace settles over Israel once more, it is imperative for all who believe in democracy to remember King’s words: “Peace for Israel means…
Douglas Murray
Things Worth Remembering: The Dangers of Multiculturalism
Crimes society refuses to deal with are the ones that go against some deep narrative of the age. I know it. I’ve seen it.
Douglas Murray
Things Worth Remembering: ‘He Died Standing Up’
Jeannette Bougrab’s partner was murdered at Charlie Hebdo 10 years ago—in the name of values, she said, ‘that we’ve forgotten to defend.’
Douglas Murray
Things Worth Remembering: Before War There Is Peace
As a new year dawns, Alan Bennett reminds us what it means to live through the calm before a storm.
Douglas Murray
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