The office of citizen
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The office of citizen

When I was growing up in suburban Chicago, my siblings and I attended a public elementary school. The school day opened with a series of rituals intended to instill in us a sense of solidarity with our political community. Before beginning our lessons, we would stand with our hand over our hearts and recite the…

Freedom of Religion and the Rule of Law
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Freedom of Religion and the Rule of Law

In February 14’s issue I wrote about how some politicians define “freedom” as the ability personally to do what you want (like disobeying masks and vaccine mandates) while also being able to restrict what other people do (like teaching about race in school). Since that column appeared, many new rights-restrictive bills have appeared in US…

The false idol of ‘freedom’
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The false idol of ‘freedom’

At some point, it became all about “freedom.” I first noticed it about 20 years ago, just after 9/11. George W. Bush was addressing a joint session of congress. Answering why terrorists hate America, Bush said: “They hate our freedoms.” In the 20 years since, protecting “our freedoms” has been the foundation of a lot…

A humiliating defeat
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A humiliating defeat

The recent events in Afghanistan sent me back to my undergraduate days. The date was 30 April 1975, when the last American personnel on the ground in Saigon, Vietnam were airlifted out of the city as it fell to the communist forces. American troops had fought to prevent this for over a decade, with a…

How 18th-century Virginians nearly made the United States more like Canada
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How 18th-century Virginians nearly made the United States more like Canada

Two-hundred thirty years ago America’s founders met in Philadelphia to hammer out a new constitution that would bring the 13 newly independent states together into an innovative kind of union: a federal union based on a separation of powers among legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. At least this is what Americans have been led to believe over the centuries.

Good guys with guns

Good guys with guns

The bottom line is that buying a gun to defend yourself from the “bad guys” should stop you cold. Not only because it is unlikely to work – which is true. And not only because you’re more likely to hurt someone close to you with it – which you are. But because buying a gun for self-defense means you’ve imagined a situation where you’d allow yourself to kill someone – and now you have the right tool for the job.

Outrage, outrage, everywhere

Outrage, outrage, everywhere

But as a wise man once pointed out: “Anger is what you often express when you’re actually sad, because it’s easier that way.”