Today, Congress is set to certify the 2024 election results, officially confirming Donald Trump as president for another four-year term. Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification, a process that former Vice President Mike Pence previously carried out on January 6, 2021. However, History will record that Pence’s role was interrupted when a violent mob of Trump supporters...

Today, five years after Parisians and the world watched in disbelief as flames engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral, a prayer was answered and the hard work of thousands and faith of millions reopened Notre Dame for the world. Five years ago, the spire collapsed, the vaulted ceilings crumbled, and its interior was scarred by fire and smoke. The devastation was not...

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 460 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...

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...

After all the votes are counted, will the country stand united, committed to overcoming our differences, or will we continue to let division define us? This is a moment to reflect and decide who we want to be and what kind of country we want to build. We can’t allow ourselves to be drawn into anger, to see one another...

In the winter of 1777, twelve thousand soldiers, along with four hundred women and children, huddled in 1,500 log huts, faced a defining moment of adversity at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Battling bitter cold, hunger, and a lack of supplies, the Continental Army’s morale was dwindling, and many were ready to abandon the fight for independence. George Washington, as commander-in-chief, understood...

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...

We know the darkness—we’re living it—but what about the light? America’s moral conscience reflects our evolving values, shaped by both successes and failures. We’ve seen progress in Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, LGPTQ+ rights, but we’ve also faced dark chapters—slavery, the mistreatment of Native Americans, Japanese internment, McCarthyism, and Watergate. Each of these pivotal moments, both the triumphs and the trials,...

On Christmas Eve, 1974, John Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, was sitting in Fort Holabird prison in Baltimore, Maryland, talking to a Mafia guy. “Let me ask you something, if you don’t mind. You look a little bit wet behind the ears to be the President’s lawyer. How’d you get there so young? Your old man put in...