Recent History Commentaries

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“It Is Mine Alone”
I’ve been looking back at history for moments when leadership wasn’t just a word, it was a responsibility carried with humility and moral strength. It’s easy to talk about leadership when the outcome is victory. The harder truth—the one that defines real character—is how a leader responds when the stakes are high, and the outcome is uncertain. Dwight D. Eisenhower...
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August 1, 2025
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The Man Who Helped America Believe in Itself Again
The Great Depression didn’t begin with the crash of ’29. It started earlier—quietly, steadily—beneath the surface of a country convinced the good times would never end. By the start of that year, the warning signs were there. Farmers had been struggling for years, drowning in debt and falling prices. Coal miners were out of work or watching their wages shrink....
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July 28, 2025
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When Power Rewrote the Message
When the pulpit merges with power, does the sword overshadow the Sermon on the Mount? Though I’m no longer practicing, I was raised Catholic. I went through the rituals—Baptism and Confirmation. At the heart of Catholic doctrine were love, mercy, humility, and salvation: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” “Whoever wants to be first must be the servant of...
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July 17, 2025
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Steady Leadership
Dwight D. Eisenhower didn’t lead with bravado. He didn’t govern by grievance. He led with character. A five-star general who commanded the Allied victory in Europe, Eisenhower understood power better than most. But he also understood something far more important: responsibility. As president, he brought the same calm discipline to the White House that he had brought to the battlefield—not...
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May 14, 2025
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Good Night, and Good Luck… to Us All
Good Night, and Good Luck, starring George Clooney on Broadway is a wake-up call about the ethical courage we desperately need today—a timely parable based on a pivotal moment in American history when journalism was not only a public service, but a moral stand. The play recalls the courage of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow as he confronted Senator Joseph...
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April 14, 2025
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When Fear Dictates Policy
“The mob is easily deceived, for it judges by appearances.” Aristotle’s words speak to a dangerous flaw in human nature: how easily fear can be stoked, trust compromised, and institutions dismantled from within. In 1947, amid growing fears of communist influence, President Harry Truman issued an executive order authorizing a “loyalty investigation of every person entering civilian employment” in the...
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March 19, 2025
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Democracy is a Test of Character
In his first inaugural address, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” At the time, the country was in the depths of the Great Depression, and fear was everywhere—fear of poverty, fear of failure, fear of the unknown. Roosevelt knew that fear, if left unchecked, could paralyze a nation. More importantly, he understood...
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March 10, 2025
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Anyone Remember This Guy?
Anyone? … Anyone at all? (Hint): He inspired generations with his vision of America. The current guy’s vision includes divisive rhetoric, and dismissive nicknames for political opponents. The other guy’s economic program focused on supply-side economics, advocating for tax cuts and deregulation to stimulate growth. The current guy’s foreign economic policy: “Tariff-the-hell out of them.” Domestic policy: Tax breaks for...
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March 6, 2025
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Man With A Plan: Lessons of the Marshall Plan
In a time when political rhetoric pushes us toward isolation, history reminds us that the greatest leaders understood a fundamental truth: America is strongest when we invest not just in ourselves but in the stability of the world around us. After World War II, Europe was in ruins: Cities were bombed out; economies devastated; and millions faced starvation. Exhausted from...
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March 5, 2025
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An Act of Faith
Near the end of Ken Burns’ documentary on the Statue of Liberty, historian David McCullough reflects on the statue’s symbolism. “She isn’t a warrior. She isn’t bombastic or threatening. She isn’t a symbol of power. The Statue of Liberty is an act of faith.” McCullough emphasizes the core values that have always been essential to America’s growth and resilience in...
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March 3, 2025

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The Latest... And Often Greatest
“It Is Mine Alone”
I’ve been looking back at history for moments when leadership wasn’t just a word, it was a responsibility carried with humility and moral strength. It’s...
The Man Who Helped America Believe in Itself Again
The Great Depression didn’t begin with the crash of ’29. It started earlier—quietly, steadily—beneath the surface of a country convinced the good times would never...
The Conscience of Government
If I had my way, every candidate who wins a primary election for public office—from Congress to the presidency—would be required to pass through a...
Are We Asking the Right Questions?
A recent graduation speech by a young philosophy major, Clair Doyle, at Northwestern University in Illinois, began with a deceptively simple question that stopped me...
When Power Rewrote the Message
When the pulpit merges with power, does the sword overshadow the Sermon on the Mount? Though I’m no longer practicing, I was raised Catholic. I...
It’s Superman, Strange Visitor from Another Planet…
Superman—America’s original superhero—once stood tall as a symbol of everything this country aspired to be. Superman—who embodies courage, decency, and fairness. Superman—who fights for the...