Editor’s Choice: Notable Articles in 2024

Reviving a Merion West tradition, I present here a list, though not a ranking, of some of my favorite articles that Merion West has published this year. Although a hopelessly subjective exercise, it provides an opportunity to highlight articles that advance the mission of Merion West as a space of commentary that welcomes ideas from across the political and cultural spectrum and is committed to independent thought, novel insight, and/or imaginative, inspiring writing.

“America’s Return to Industrial Policy”

In this article, Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher celebrate a revival of American industrial policy. Observing that, in the wake of President Joe Biden’s three high-profile legislative victories early in his term, “industrial policy—the deliberate and coordinated governmental support of industries—is coming back, even if it is not clear yet where it will end up.” They insist that this “is a very good thing.” In making their case, they provide an exemplary case of the kind of high-quality opinion piece that Merion West strives to publish. Perhaps presciently, and in the spirit of dialogue and reconciliation that Merion West has always championed, they write, “In these fractious, politically embittered times, industrial policy is emerging as a unique issue that not only bridges the partisan gap but also has the potential to help heal the country from political extremism by reducing some of the economic discontent that causes it.”

“Winds of the Great Shame”

This piece is a beautifully crafted work of creative nonfiction that recounts the generational trauma of alcoholism in the author’s Irish-American family. The story is anchored hauntingly on a line that emerges in the beginning, the words of the author’s mother as she is dying of cancer: “Daddy wanted me to become an actress,” she said, placing a finger to her lips as if to silence any dissent. “And I would have been a good one, too.” The story gradually and subtly weaves its way through the story of a girlhood dream broken over many years by the pitfalls of unstable relationships wounded by alcohol. The shame of a family whose dreams and relationships succumbed to the destructive influences of alcoholic addiction shines through this profoundly sad but moving account of generational shame.