The Following is a summary of the April 2025 issue of The St. Croix Review:

Barry MacDonald, in “A Chasm of Division in America,” compares our present difficulty to the trauma induced by the Vietnam War.

Mark Hendrickson, in “The Hollow Protests about a ‘Constitutional Crisis,’” writes about the uproar over the President Trump’s attempts to rein in bureaucratic abuse, and he provides a genuine and historical Constitutional perspective; in “America First or America Alone?” he questions whether President Trump is sowing unjustified resentment among nations inclined to be friendly to the U.S. in the manner of President Carter who was forgiving of enemies and hard on friends; in “Confusion About Tariffs in the Trump Administration,” he considers the pluses and minuses of tariffs, and demonstrates the high stakes gamble Trump is making; in “Why USAID Should Be Shut Dow,” he points out the usual futility of foreign aid that is dispensed with good intentions by bureaucrats who lack business sense: The money is stolen by corrupt rulers or squandered.

Paul Kengor, in “The Man Behind Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’: Tony Dolan, RIP,” eulogizes Ronald Reagan’s chief speechwriter who was responsible for much of Reagan’s most memorable lines. Tony Dolan was a staunch Catholic who believed fervently in the use of the word “evil” in reference to the Soviet Union. Kengor provides an inside view of the Reagan White House through Dolan’s words.

Timothy Goeglein, in “Why Women Are Struggling with Marriage,” finds complex cultural, educational and economic explanations.

Jackson Waters in “The American Spirit,” sees in Donald Trump and his second presidency a promising vision of the same masculine, youthful energy that conquered the Western frontier in the 19th century.

Josiah Lippincott in “America Needs Tariffs,” makes the case that in a world where civilization is the exception and barbarism is the rule hostile nations, need to be opposed with tariffs to preserve the well-being of fellow Americans.

Kryptos in “Revealing the City of God,” delves deeply into the questions of why “Christian” societies so often fail to reflect the essence of Christ. He provides reflections on culture, civilization, the nature of church, and what it means to be people of God.

Francis DeStefano, in “Hollywood Golden Age Divas,” comments on the films of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Katherine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, and Bette Davis; in “Mickey Rooney and The Human Comedy,” he writes about the life and times of the multitalented diminutive actor.

Jigs Gardner, in “Letters from a Conservative Farmer: Versed in Country Things — The Portent,” he shares a near catastrophe, the peculiar behavior of neighbors in the country, the bounty of his natural surroundings, and two mutually beneficial types of knowledge.