Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

In social matters, pointless conventions are not merely the bee sting of etiquette, but the snake bite of moral order.

Southerners are so devoted to genealogy that we see a family tree under every bush.

Updike's style is an exquisite blend of Melville and Austen: reading him is like cutting through whale blubber with embroidery scissors.

Kings and queens might do wicked things, but they don't nag. One thing I like about Bloody Mary: she never said a word about lung cancer.

Let's bring back grandmothers! A real family consists of three generations. It's time Americans stopped worrying about interference and being a burden on the children and regrouped under one roof.

There is more sexism in a year's worth of movies than actually exists in a woman's entire lifetime.