On September 24, 2015, Pope Francis made history as the first pontiff to address a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress. Nearly a decade later, his message still resonates with clarity and urgency. Francis reminded lawmakers that public service is more than legislation, it is a moral occupation: “You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow...

If you live on the West Coast, fires are part of life. Yet the fires raging in California right now—five at last count—are unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. The Palisades Fire alone has burned over 19,000 acres, leaving destruction and heartbreak in its wake. California’s wildfires remind us of two things: our shared vulnerability and the extraordinary strength we summon...

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...

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...

On March 4, 1933, at his first inauguration, Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before the American people and addressed a nation in crisis. He understood that his task was not only economic recovery but the restoration of trust and unity. With words that reached beyond the immediate moment, he offered a powerful call against the biggest enemy facing the country: “The...

Published in 1937, Walter Lippmann’s An Inquiry into the Principles of the Good Society feels especially relevant today, given the current state of politics. Lippmann was a standard-bearer of the hope for a better American society, and his insights on leadership and the moral compass that should guide public life are spot on. An astute observer of the political landscape,...

Fed by misinformation and half-truths, fear pushes us to distrust others, retreat into ourselves, see threats where there are none. Fear convinces us the world is more hostile than it truly is, seeing things through the lens of “Us vs. Them,” cutting us off from the compassion, understanding, and cooperation that can bring us together. Fear has always been present,...

The last presidential election was marked by deep mistrust and anger. Four years later, the anger has escalated exponentially, with rage now dominating the political landscape, encouraging a pervasive sense of outrage. Dialogue has devolved into confrontation, disagreement into hostility. Rather than seeking solutions, we dig deeper into division, driven by a need to dominate rather than understand. What’s driving...

I first heard about John Gilbert Winant several years ago in Concord, New Hampshire, while I was teaching a class on ethics. My co-captain, Professor Stephen Ambra, spoke admiringly of the three-term Republican governor of the state. However, the most compelling part of Winant’s story unfolded during his time abroad, serving as the U.S. Ambassador to England. In 1941, Democrat...