Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Well, apparently, the quarter-zip pullover has become a popular choice for young men on both sides of the Atlantic.

It's a preppy compromise between a hoodie and a sports coat, and it swept across social, racial, and cultural

spectrums from urban epicenters to college campuses.

It's even generated an unusual amount of media coverage and analysis.

For example, this from The Guardian, quote,

the subtext is that quarter zips, often associated with white middle class finance bros,

signify professionalism, while Nike techs often associated with white middle-class finance bros, signify professionalism,

while Nike techs often associated with black working class men living in cities represent criminality.

To wear a quarter zip, these videos say, is to complete your transformation from a hoodlum

into something more respectable. And this, according to a different article from USA Today,

people engage with the quarter zip's popularity say it goes beyond just trends and clothes.

It's a lifestyle that reflects a commitment to sophistication, end quote. Well, it could be that all

of this is more than just a fashion trend. Beginning last year, there were reports of an upsurge

in the number of young men that were going to church, and not just any churches. By and large,

the young men that are looking for spiritual answers are not choosing seeker-friendly or mainline

progressive churches. It's as if they want something that will challenge them. Also recently,

conversations appeared on social media

sites like X between young men, some in their teens, who were diving into the great books of

the Western canon. These young men are not just reading Dostoevsky or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,

are sharing their impressions and engaging in conversation about the books with others.

...