In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, there’s a brilliant moment that underscores how easily miscommunication can lead to false assumptions, even in the most profound of circumstances. During the Sermon on the Mount, those standing at the back of the hill strain to hear Jesus’ words. Instead of, “The meek shall inherit the earth,” they misheard it as, “The Greeks...

I time-tunneled back to 410 BC to have a conversation with Socrates, the renowned Greek sage, about the greatest challenges we face today. With the help of his A.I. assistant, here is that conversation, (edited for length). Socrates: Greetings, fellow traveler. What’s on your mind? Jim: How can we climb out of the pit of despair and relentless conflict where...

In a Thanksgiving address given in 1944 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and in the presence of  Winston Churchill, United States Ambassador John Gilbert Winant concluded his speech with these words: “We are grateful that you have joined us on this day of Thanksgiving because, through common sacrifice and a sustaining Providence, we have been able together to preserve our...

CBS News journalist Steve Hartman has built a career on finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. At a time when headlines are dominated by division and despair, Hartman’s stories remind us that hope and kindness are far from absent, they’re simply waiting to be discovered. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close and children to learn from...

Running errands, stuck in traffic, cut off in traffic, crawling through traffic, frustrated and angry while enduring a relentless stream of bad news droning on cable radio, I clicked to another channel and was instantly transported to an oasis of calm. When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it...

“You tried to destroy Trump; you tried to imprison Trump; you tried to break Trump. He’s not breakable. You couldn’t destroy him, and now he has turned on you.” That’s Trump’s favorite loyal lieutenant, Steve Bannon, from the former president’s first administration. This time around, he’s playing Lady Macbeth who’s role is fluffer to Donald Trump, making sure he feeds...

What began as a commentary about team Trump’s missed deadline to submit an ethics code—a legally required document meant to reassure the public about transparent and ethical leadership—has morphed into something much darker. Trump has been transparent, but not about an ethics code, but his frightening, self-serving picks for top cabinet posts. Tulsi Gabbard has been chosen to become Director...

Veterans Day is a time to honor the countless men and women who’ve served our country through war and peace, putting the nation’s needs above their own. Their courage and dedication remind us what it truly means to defend our freedom—freedom to speak, worship, assemble, and live in peace and safety. In many schools, each day starts with the pledge...

Drawing from his harrowing experience in a Nazi concentration camp, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl crafted a work of timeless insight, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” One message stands out: Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess—except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. It’s a brilliant reminder—one we all need to hold onto...

Donald J. Trump didn’t win the election last night; fear and loathing did. Justice, accountability, honesty, character and democratic values lost. If you repeat a lie often enough, the theory goes, people accept it as truth. That theory has become reality. Last night, a majority of American voters bought into the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, that the...